buoyed by the pandemic, new york suburb greenwich, connecticut, finally sees sales recede
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By Casey Farmer | Published on October 20, 2022
Single-family home sales in Greenwich, Connecticut—one of many New York City suburbs that saw demand surge since the start of the pandemic—have fallen since last year, according to a report Thursday from Douglas Elliman.
Despite sales slipping 36.9% year over year from 328 to 207 in the third quarter, dealmaking remained above pre-pandemic levels, according to Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of the real estate appraisal firm Miller Samuel. The boom of the past couple of years completely revived the Greenwich market, where homes, specifically its large contingent of mansions, saw sluggish sales and slow price appreciation before the pandemic.
The median sales price for single-family homes in the affluent Connecticut town continued to rise year over year, up 6.7% to $2.4 million. The median sales price hasn’t declined year over year for 14 quarters, Mr. Miller wrote.
With less listing inventory available, down 18% from last year, single-family homes are staying on the market for less time, averaging 59 days as opposed to last year’s 77-day average.
Like single-family homes, luxury real estate—defined as the upper 10% of single-family and condo sales—also saw an increase in median sales price, rising 4.8% year-over-year to $7.1 million.
Still, luxury sales are down as well, falling 37.5% annually to 25 closed sales in the third quarter. Falling inventory is partly to blame for the slowdown in sales. Luxury listings in the third quarter fell below pre-pandemic levels to 69 homes, down 6.8% year over year. Mr. Miller wrote that this inventory is less than half of what it was pre-pandemic and is the second-lowest luxury listing supply on record.
Though condo sales fell 41.5% annually, they still remain “well above pre-pandemic levels,” according to Mr. Miller.
Across the wider Fairfield County, listing inventory fell 20.8% annually and is down to about one-third of pre-pandemic totals. The county’s median sales price, $595,000, is up 8.2% from the third quarter of last year.