Real Estate

Latest Housing Numbers Mixed in Durham and Middlefield

While home prices remain flat, home sales are on the rise in Connecticut — a trend that experts believe will lead to a housing recovery.

 

Home sales continue to improve in Connecticut, according to a recent study by The Warren Report, jumping nearly 13 percent over the first eight months of 2012 compared to the same period last year.

Locally however, housing numbers show mixed results. In Middlefield, home sales through September have dropped 12 percent from last year while in Durham home sales have risen by 83 percent — the highest percentage increase in all of Middlesex County.

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"I think Durham has always had a desirability. The feedback that I always get is the taxes are so high and I think that's been a drawback for people but with the interest rates so low it just increases the affordability," said realtor Debbie Huscher.

Despite the overall increasing trend in home sales, another indicator of a strong housing recovery — home prices — has remained flat.

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Average home prices are down 6.5 percent in Durham year-over-year, from $322,347 in the first 9 months of 2011 to $301,301 through September 2012.

The average sale price in Middlefield through September was $246,450, compared to $273,076 a year ago, a nearly 10 percent drop.

Still, Huscher is optimistic that lower prices will lure buyers at a time when interest rates remain at record lows.

"Five years from now people are going to say they wish they bought in 2012 because prices are great, interest rates are unbelievable," she said.


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