Home sale prices in greater Hartford rose for the third month in a row in March, a hopeful lead-in for the spring homebuying market, but some say there are reasons to remain cautious.
“There are some positive signs to take note of, InfoSys bringing in 1,000 jobs,” Donald L. Klepper-Smith, chief economist at DataCore Partners Inc. in Durham, said Friday. “But it is premature to be getting overly optimistic. I’m not one who is sold right now, given the fiscal challenges, that there is going to be robust economic growth in the Hartford area.”
Klepper-Smith was referring to the recent announcement that the India-based technology and consulting firm will move 1,000 jobs into Hartford.
The median sale price of a single-family house jumped 7.1 percent in March, to $224,900, from $210,000 for the same month a year ago, according to a report issued late Thursday by the Greater Hartford Association, an industry group.
Sales rose 2 percent in March compared with the same month a year ago, the association reported.
The longer view shows a slightly different picture for the 57-town area tracked by the association, which bases its report on data from the Multiple Listing Service.
Through the first three months of the year, the median sale price of a single-family house surged 8.5 percent, to $215,000, from $198,050 for the same period a year ago.
But sales fell 5.6 percent in the same time frame. Higher prices and lower sales volume suggests a more limited sample size that can see more volatile swings in price.
“I wouldn’t read too much into it right now,” Klepper-Smith said. “Let’s give it a couple of months.”
Thursday’s jobs report showed a statewide loss of 2,000 jobs in March, the first monthly decline since October. The Hartford labor market, however, was one of two in the state that showed a net gain in employment, up 600.
Employment and the housing market are closely tied. A strong job market usually boosts home sales because buyers are confident they will find employment and make their mortgage payments even if they lose their current job.
The sales reported by the association represent properties that went under contract 45 to 60 days earlier and are not necessarily a barometer for the spring market, traditionally the strongest of the year.
The spring market typically begins when the clocks go forward an hour, but cold weather so far could discourage house hunters.
Home prices in Greater Hartford and Connecticut overall have been struggling to recover from the last recession, which lasted from March 2008 to February 2010.
In the smaller condominium market, the median sale price was basically flat in March, at $135,000, compared with $134,000 a year earlier, the association reported. Sales fell 2 percent.
Economists say that they don’t expect a lot of change in 2018 in the home sale market, and that affordability could be nicked by rising interest rates. The state’s fiscal troubles also have not been definitively resolved.
Swings in the median price do not necessarily mean all prices or home values are moving in the same direction. Home prices can vary widely from town to town or even neighborhood to neighborhood, and they are influenced by location, property condition and updates to kitchens and bathrooms.
The median price also can be influenced by the mix of houses sold. Even so, the median is considered a good barometer of broad market trends.
