CT Home Market

Northeast Is Nation's Bright Spot In Existing-Home Sales
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
Associated Press
April 23, 2008
WASHINGTONSales of existing homes fell in March, the seventh drop in the past eight months, as the spring sales season got off to a rocky start, although the Northeast fared much better.The median price of a home was down compared with a year ago, and some economists predicted home prices could keep falling for many more months given all the troubles weighing on housing, from a severe credit crunch to a rising tide of foreclosures.The National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday that sales of existing single-family homes and condominiums dropped by 2 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.93 million units.The median price of a home sold last month was $200,700, a decline of 7.7 percent from a year ago and the seventh consecutive year-over-year price drop. It was also the second biggest decline following a record 8.4 percent drop in February. These records go back to 1999.In Connecticut, the market is considered stronger. Sales were up 2.2 percent for the month in the Northeast, although they were down by 19 percent from one year ealier. Prices, in contrast to the rest of the nation, rose by 4.6 percent year-over-year.