Local Market Statistics Through April 2009 (22 Shoreline Towns)
Housing supply, as measured by the absorption rate (months to sell existing inventory), is 42% higher than a year ago (still very much a "buyer's" market!)
Since a "balanced" market has about 6-7 months of inventory, a change in supply (more sales or fewer homes coming on the market) is needed. Even though the number of homes for sale is the same through April, sales declined 22.5% - a lot of buyers are still waiting for lower prices!
The following data is from our local MLS Board statistics, selecting data from 22 towns from Branford to East Lyme (2008 vs. 2009):
|
Shoreline Data*
|
|
|
Percent
|
|
Ending April 30, 2009
|
2008
|
2009
|
Change
|
|
Homes for Sale
|
7704
|
7676
|
-0.4%
|
|
Absorption Rate (months to sell existing inventory)
|
12.9
|
18.4
|
+42.0%
|
|
New Listings (End of Month)
|
2022
|
1770
|
-12.5%
|
|
Median Price
|
432,274
|
402843
|
-6.8%
|
|
Closings
|
579
|
448
|
-22.5%
|
|
*Data from Middshore MLS Statistics (22 shoreline towns)
|
Looking further into the data, the higher price levels had twice the decline in sales comparing 2008 to 2009.
There were 504 sales in the $0-$599,000 price range in 2008 compared to 399 sales in 2008 (a decrease of 20%).
At the $600,000 to $1,000,000 plus price range, there were only 45 sales in 2009 compared to 75 sales in 2008 (a decrease of 40%)