Wallingford and Meriden CT 2011 Market Report Wrap-up
The real estate market for 2011 is history now, and what a ride it was! State-wide, there was a slight upward trend in monthly sales as evidenced by the trend line in the chart below:
Total sales of single family homes and condos for the year totaled 20,483 units, down 9.3% from 22,573 in 2010. In addition, average days on market saw a distinct upward trend throughout the year, while selling prices continued a slow decline. Here are some other pertinent points of interest:
- The median price of existing single-family homes decreased to $198,500, down -5.4% vs November 2011.
- Existing single-family home sales increased 5.9% from November 2011 for a December 2011 total of 1,290 sold units.
- Condos decreased in price to $137,750 down -7.6% vs November 2011.
- Existing condo sales decreased -1.0% in December 2011 over November 2011 for a total of 286 sold units.
Wallingford
Of the 169 communities in Connecticut, Wallingford finished with the tenth most sold listings in 2011 with 437. This total reflects all types of listings, including single family homes, condos, multi-family homes, and land. For the purposes of this post, we'll focus on the single family homes and condos, which made up 90% of the total. As seen in the chart below, the Wallingford market closely mirrored the statewide trend, edging upwards as the year progressed and buoyed by a strong 3rd quarter. Total sales of 393 units was down only 2.5% from 2010's total of 403 units sold and only 2% from 2009 (401), indicating that the market may be very close to bottoming out. In fact, sales figures for January indicate that 2012 may see a significant increase, as the final sales numbers beat January 2011 by 37%. The average days on market in Wallingford has defied the statewide trend and saw a downward slide throughout the year, ending at about 109 days; however, the inventory of available properties has trended upwards and there are now almost 12 months worth of inventory on hand.
Meriden
Meriden fared even better than Wallingford in statewide sales, ending 2011 at #6 in sold properties with 482, of which 84% were single family homes and condos. The annual trend in Meriden was very similar to Wallingford, improving slightly as the year went on, but there was more consistency in performance throughout the year. The worst numbers were in the first quarter, and then things got better starting in April and stayed consistent for the rest of the year. While Wallingford's market saw modest changes over the past couple of years, Meriden's were more pronounced. Total sales were 404, but that was down 18% from 2010 (492) and more than 30% below 2009's numbers (580). The outlook for 2012 looks good, however, as January sales outperformed January 2011 by 45%. In addition, days on market and housing inventory both trended lower in 2011, giving more hope for a resurgent 2012 housing market.
Summary
While the housing markets in Wallingford and Meriden both saw varying degrees of decline in 2011, initial sales figures in 2012 point to the possibility of significant improvement for the coming year, or at the very least a bottoming out of the market. Many experts are predicting it will take until 2013 for the market to show true improvement, but that is a statement regarding the overall US housing market, and not of the local markets. Indeed, markets in many areas across the country have already begun to recover while others in the same geographical area remain depressed, proving once again that real estate is truly local, often times right down to street level. Since one month's worth of data is not enough to declare the housing bust to be over - especially since it's January, a notoriously slow month for real estate - it remains to be seen if we're on the road to recovery, but the prognosis is good. Keep an eye out for our monthly market reports to get the 411 on the Wallingford and Meriden markets as it becomes available.
If you need information on your local market or need help in buying or selling a home, contact Harriman Real Estate LLC today, by phone at (203) 672-4499, on the web at www.harrimanre.com, or email us at info@harrimanre.com!
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Pat and Wayne, those figures are better than I would have expected. 2010 was not that bad a year, in fact it was one of my best year because of the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit. However 2012 is starting out for me better than 2010, If it finishes better than 2010 this will be a really good year.
We agree George, we're doing very well so far in 2012 also, and if interest rates can sustain their low levels (CHFA at 3.25%??? WHAT?) it should be a VERY good year for the market!