via Hartford Courant

By Kenneth R. Gosselin | Published March 10, 2021

Connecticut home purchases surged into the new year, as sales in January — typically a slow month coming off the holiday — reached a 15-year high for the month, with last year’s hot market showing little sign of cooling off, a new report shows.

The median sale price for single-family houses soared more than 19%, to $300,000, compared with $251,250 for the same month a year ago. The median price — in which half the sales are above, half below — represented the highest level for the month since The Warren Group, the authors of the report, began tracking home sale data in 1987. The median price also is likely an all-time high for January.

Sales of single-family house rose nearly 25% compared with the same month a year earlier, the report showed.

Here are the top 10 towns in Connecticut where home sale prices rose the most in 2020 »

In 2020, Connecticut home sale prices reached their highest levels in decades, with the pandemic spurring buyers to seek different living spaces as work and school went remote and there was an influx of purchasers, particularly in Fairfield and Litchfield counties, from more urban New York.

“The momentum gained in last year’s single-family housing market has clearly rolled over into 2021,” Timothy Warren, CEO of The Warren Group, said, in a release. Big gains in Fairfield and Litchfield counties, indicate “a demand for country or vacation homes for city dwellers. But as the state gains immunity from the coronavirus this spring, we may see less demand in those areas.”

The report shows that among Connecticut’s 169 municipalities, the top five registering the greatest number of sales in January encompassed a diversity of income levels. The top five were: Waterbury, 73; Stratford, 72; Stamford, 68; West Hartford, 62; and Fairfield, 58.

All of the state’s eight counties saw double-digit, year-over-year gains in both median prices and sales, with the exception of Tolland County that registered just above an 8% gain in its median price.

In Hartford County, sales of single-family houses rose more than 17% in January, compared with a year earlier. The median sale price surged 18% in January to $257,300, compared with $218,000 a year earlier.

In addition to the western side of the state, New London County saw eye-catching strength, with a 34% jump in sales in January — though the volume was smaller than either Fairfield or Litchfield counties.

Multiple bids on houses that were in the best locations and with sought-after updates of kitchens and baths became more common, particularly if they were “priced right,” agents said. But properties needing work also were getting a second look, as the inventory of properties — those on the market for sale — dwindled dramatically.

In the smaller condominium market, sales also were strong in January with the most sold in the month since 2007. The median sale price soared more than 17% to $190,000, from $162,000 for the same month a year earlier and also the highest level for the month since 2006.