William Pitt – Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty reported that residential real estate markets in Connecticut, Westchester County, N.Y., and the Berkshires, Mass., continued to experience sales declines in August versus the same month last year. With housing supply limited for several quarters now, lower inventory continued to impact the market in August. Both new listings taken and overall inventory declined by significant percentages versus August 2021 in most markets.
Buyer demand remained elevated, if not as high as recent quarters, with New York City residents still seeking suburban housing in historic numbers. Economic turbulence is playing a role in the reduced sales, but our unique proximity to New York City is nevertheless keeping our markets active.
In Fairfield County, Conn., unit sales and closed dollar volume declined in August versus the same month last year by 20% and 11%, respectively. Overall inventory was down 26% compared to August last year while new listings for the month decreased by 25%.
In Westchester County, N.Y., unit sales and closed volume decreased by 15% and 8%, respectively, from August last year. As in Fairfield County, limited inventory affected the market, with overall inventory down by 23% and new listings by 24% compared to August 2021.
Other markets served by the company witnessed similar trends. New London, Middlesex, Litchfield and Hartford Counties in Connecticut all experienced decreases in unit sales and dollar volume versus last August. New Haven County alone saw an uptick in closed volume while unit sales stayed down, an indication of more higher priced properties transacting, while volume in the Berkshires in Massachusetts was also slightly up as unit sales decreased. All markets were challenged by low inventory.
Please see the accompanying charts for a full review of the data for all market areas, comparing August 2022 to both August 2021 and August 2020, sourced from various MLSs.
