Last year saw a hot housing market in Connecticut. It has been a seller's market with most properties getting multiple offers and selling for higher prices.
Smart MLS just put out its annual report on Connecticut's housing market. NBC Connecticut's Jane Caffrey spoke with Michael Barbaro, the president of smart MLS.
Jane: "So Michael, what are some of the big takeaways from the 2021 report? What's driving this demand?"
Michael: "You know, I think at the beginning of the pandemic, what we saw was, we saw people fleeing, let's say New York City. They were trying to get away from the crowds, they were trying to get away from apartment buildings. But I think what that bred was a -- a new appreciation for a work-life balance. And so people started coming here to rent and they started coming back home to Connecticut to live with family. And I think they realized, this was a different way of life. One positive thing that came out of this pandemic over the last 20 months is just a realization by people that said, 'I don't want to spend that much time on a train every day of my life, I want to be home, I want to be with my family, I want a hybrid work environment where I could work some days from home.'"
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Jane: "One of the things I noticed was the average sales price for a home is up to $453,000. So that's about 12% from 2020. And people are willing to pay even more. The MLS report found that sellers, on average received 108.5% of their list price. So do you see that trend continuing?"
Michael: So that's largely going to be driven by inventory. We're at historic lows for our inventory right now. So we are back to seeing significantly over asking price offers, multiple offer situations, buyers waiving their contingencies for things like home inspections. There's a lot of people that say, 'Well, look, I want to move and I want to sell my house but I'm, I'm apprehensive because where will I go?' And we as realtors we have ways that we can mitigate that for you, right? We can sell your house subject to you finding housing that is suitable to you. And that gives you a chance to test the market, see what you can get, and then get out there and shop and still have the ability to remain in your house if you can't find anything. So I think this is something we're going to see for the foreseeable future."
Jane: "When it comes to finding a house, you always hear the saying 'it's all about location, location, location.' So let's talk a little bit about that. Which areas of the state are seeing the most sales in which areas have any are seeing a decline in sales?"
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Michael: "We've seen growth throughout the state of Connecticut. I mean, every nook and cranny has seen measurable significant growth. There were people interestingly enough coming from New York City or coming from Massachusetts or coming from somewhere else. And their search areas were quite diverse, right? Because this was still -- to them -- the country. If you're coming out of Brooklyn, if you're coming out of you know one of the other boroughs, if you're coming out of Manhattan, and now you have a place to call a backyard, you weren't so locked in and if you could telecommute the work, you know, Connecticut was your oyster. We have places for you to go and we have we have all different types of properties to fit your lifestyle."
