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Hartford Metro Area Ranked Among Top 10 Buyer’s Markets

By Kenneth R. Gosselin

July 11, 2012

There have been encouraging signs in the Hartford area’s housing market this spring, including a gain in the median sale price in May, the first in more than a year.

But a new report by Zillow suggests that there are plenty of bargains in the Hartford metro area.

The Hartford metro area ranked ninth in a list top 10 buyer’s markets compiled by Zillow using data from the 50 largest metro areas in the country.

Zillow compiled its listing of top buyer and seller markets nationwide based on sale-to-list price ratio, number of days spent on Zillow and percentage of homes on the market with a price cut.

Here is the list of top buyer’s and seller’s markets:

Top 10 Seller's Markets:

San Jose

San Francisco

Las Vegas

Sacramento

Phoenix

Riverside, Calif.

Washington D.C.

Los Angeles

Salt Lake City

Austin, Tex.

Top 10 Buyer's Markets:

Chicago

Milwaukee

Cleveland

New York

Philadelphia

Jacksonville, Fla.

Providence

Cincinnati

Hartford

Houston

A buyer’s market is one where buyers have more bargaining power because of price reductions, a larger inventory and properties taking longer to sell. A market is generally considered to favor neither buyer nor seller if there is six months worth of inventory on the market.

In May, the Greater Hartford Association of Realtors reported that its 57-town market had nine months worth of inventory, based on sales that month. While still firmly in a buyer’s market, it was lower than the more than 11 months of inventory for the same month in 2011.

How long the Hartford metro area will remain a buyer’s market is unclear, but a separate report this week by Clear Capital indicated that sale prices will continue to rise, at least through the end of this year.

Clear Capital’s forecast is based on an index of home sale prices, based on repeat sales of homes over a 20-year period. This statistic differs from the tracking of fluctuations median sale price by Warren Group and Greater Hartford Association of Realtors, reported monthly by Property Line.

The index forecasts a 4.5-percent increase in sale prices by the end of the year, compared with June 30.