Lower Fairfield County is coming off one of its strongest markets in at least twenty years, according to new sales activity reports by real estate brokerage Brown Harris Stevens (BHS).
According to the Connecticut year-end report, a total of 6,794 houses closed in 2020, the highest total in two decades. Houses closed at an average price of $1.2M, 19 percent higher than in 2019. Condos were also in high demand, with 1,698 closings in 2020, the most since 2007.
“Fueled by a few different factors including the need for more space, low mortgage rates and New Yorkers moving out of the city in the midst of the pandemic, the Connecticut market quickly rose to a strong seller’s market in a matter of months,” said Bess Freedman, CEO of Brown Harris Stevens, in a statement. “The exceptional strength of the market has driven up closing prices, with bidding wars, and values increased along with activity at higher-end price points. Currently, buyers are facing a lack of inventory and we anticipate the Spring Market to be very strong.”
In Q4 2020, the collective dollar volume of closings for towns across Lower Fairfield County was $2.6 billion, an increase of 167 percent vs. Q4 2019. During this same time period, homes closed at an average price of $1.48M, up 23 percent versus the fourth quarter of 2019.
The fourth quarter of 2020 was also marked by a new price record in Rowayton. That record was set by Brown Harris Stevens agent Becky Munro who listed and sold 57 Rowayton Avenue for $6.575—the highest price ever achieved for a home in the town’s history. The home received an accepted offer in just 15 days.
Meanwhile, across Lower Fairfield County, the number of active houses on December 31 fell 39 percent year-over-year. The average absorption rate (how many months it would take to sell all active listings in a given market) in the last three months of the year was down to 4.6 months, 50 percent lower than that of the final three months of 2019.
For the full Connecticut year-end market report, including a town-by-town breakdown click here.
