november a dud, but connecticut on track for 2025 increase in home sales
/
By Alexander Soule | Published on December 5, 2025
The holiday real estate market arrived with a thud in Connecticut, with November sales well off last year's numbers but the state still on pace to clear 2025 with an overall gain in transactions thanks to a hot market for townhouses and condos.
Statewide, about 2,600 properties sold in November, 360 fewer than in November 2024 for a 12% decline according to Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties. For the first 11 months of the year, about 32,200 homes have sold according to Berkshire Hathaway's count based on multiple listings services data, about 660 more than between January and November 2024.
As of Thursday, Redfin reported more than 5,400 additional properties under contract to be sold, which if completed by the end of December could influence Connecticut's year-end total significantly.
Record high values continue to stymie some buyers who lack an existing home to put on the market, or other assets to cover the upfront costs of a new purchase. Those high prices are the result of too few homes listed for sale compared to historic norms in much of Connecticut, creating a seller's market where buyers are having to raise their offers in many instances to beat out rival bidders.
The inventory pinch is a combination of too few homes being built, and large numbers of existing Connecticut home owners who refinanced mortgages during the COVID-19 pandemic to save on their monthly payments. With interest rates still above 6%, that has many of them leery of putting their house on the market despite the high prices they could command, due to the higher financing costs to purchase any new property those sellers might move into.
"Looking ahead to 2026, a significant share of properties with deep equity remains in the hands of empty nesters," stated Brenda Maher, president of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties, in her most recent review of the Connecticut market. "For many in this group, townhomes are becoming increasingly appealing."
Gains in condominium and townhouse sales are easily outpacing those of single-family houses in Connecticut this year, with condo unit transactions up 4.3% to a 1.4% bump for stand-alone houses.
Stamford was among the Connecticut outliers in November with a sharp increase in listings, ranging from a $259,000 condo at Hayes House on Strawberry Hill Ave., to a four-acre spread on Starin Avenue near the Greenwich line priced at nearly $2.7 million. On the year, Stamford condo listings are up nearly 11%, compared to a 1% increase in single-family listings.
Stamford buyers are paying 3.9% above final asking prices this year according to Berkshire Hathaway, and the city's median sale price of $710,000 is 9% higher than in the first 11 months of 2024.
On the year, only eight cities and towns have landed a bigger increase in listings than Stamford, led by Southbury with about 125 more than a year ago. Southbury sales are up 27% this year and the town's median price has been held in check, roughly in line with the 2024 median of $390,000.
Norwalk is next with close to 120 more listings than in 2024, but with sales up only 6% this year.
In four of every five Connecticut markets where listings are up, sales transactions have followed suit. And while 20 cities and towns have shrugged off lower listings with increased sales — that number includes Hartford — in the majority of instances, that was not the case.
In 15 towns and cities on track for at least 500 transactions this year, sales are up the most in Southington at 19% through November, followed by Milford, Waterbury and Danbury, all with gains above 10%. Stratford has seen the biggest drop in the group, with transactions off 11% from the 2024 totals.
After Southbury in the next group of nearly three-dozen towns projecting between 250 and 500 transactions, the totals are up at least 17% in Windsor, Newtown and Groton. Sales are down 14% in Newington to trail Connecticut's mid-size markets.
Among smaller towns, North Canaan leads the state with sales having more than doubled from a year ago. But sales in neighboring Canaan are off by nearly 60% this year, the largest margin statewide through November.