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Sales were especially strong in Greenwich, where sales increased 10.34 percent over last year. For Fairfield County, sales increased 5.27 percent.
The increase in units sold in Greenwich was tempered by a steep drop in the median sale price. That figure dipped 19.68 percent, to $1,112,500. The median sale price for a Greenwich home in the first quarter of 2015 was $1.385 million.
New listings also surged in the first quarter in Greenwich, increasing 44.59 percent over last year. There were 321 new listings in the first three months of 2016.
Overall in Fairfield County, the real estate market appears to be holding steady. The median sale price rose 2.25 in the first quarter compared to the same quarter last year, and days on market declined four percent. There were more than 5,000 new listings in the first quarter, an increase of more than 17 percent from the first quarter last year.
"There's a healthy level of buyer demand right now,'' said Joe Valvano, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Connecticut and Westchester County. "Consumer confidence is steady. Employment has improved. Interest rates have remained low. It was a very good first quarter, especially compared to last year. The spring market was pretty late getting started last year because of the weather."
Greenwich’s median sale price has been hurt by a drop in high-end home purchases. First-time home buyers are moving into the market, but pricier homes are slow to move.
“The high-end segment of the market is not moving as quickly as we would have hope all over Fairfield County,’’ said Brad Kimmelman, brokerage manager for William Pitt Sotheby’s in Fairfield and Southport. “If those homeowners want to sell, they will have to make price adjustments. If they bring prices in line, we’ll start to move that high end inventory, which we need to move.”
Click here for the first quarter report from Coldwell Banker.
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