Hartford Business Journal

6 Hartford Business Journal • April 29, 2019 • www.HartfordBusiness.com By Gregory Seay gseay@hartfordbusiness.com A mid lackluster Connecti- cut and Hartford area indicators for new hous- ing starts and home sales and prices, homebuilders, Realtors and financiers are clinging to optimism at the start of the spring- summer home-sales season. "I'm not concerned at all,'' said West Hartford Realtor Rob Levine. "I believe this is going to be a strong real estate market this year.'' Levine, who is president of the Greater Hartford Association of Real- tors (GHAR), says his real estate peers claim to be as busy as ever on the eve of the home-sales season that typically runs from May to November, also the traditional start and end to winter. "It's funny how the snow has to melt. … When the snow melts and the ground is still brown,'' Levine said, "people say, 'Hey, we have to get out' '' and start house hunting. The snow may be gone but frost still clings to portions of Greater Hartford's and the state's housing market, which rollercoastered throughout 2018. For example, permits issued for new home construction in the 104 Con- necticut communities tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau fell 13.1 percent during the first three months of 2019 to 899 vs. 1,034 a year earlier. And while Greater Hartford's 2019 single-family home sales through March rose slightly by 1.65 percent, to 2,097 units, from a year earlier, the median first-quarter sales price was down 2.3 percent to $210,000 vs. $215,000 in the year-ago period. Multifamily housing remains in demand, with the number of apartment, con- dominium and townhome units being built often exceeding month- ly single-family permit tallies. Hartford area condo sales so far this year are down slightly through March at 490 units, while their me- dian price rose 2.19 percent, to $140,000, GHAR said. One bright spot for the industry is that mortgage interest rates ap- pear, for the time being, to have stabilized. The latest 30-year average of around 4.3 percent compares to 4.75 percent a year ago. The 15-year aver- age is about 3.62 percent vs. about 4 percent a year ago. More troubling for Greater Hartford brokers and homebuyers is that the in- ventory of area housing units for sale fell precipitously in the first quarter. At March's close, new house listings had fallen 4.1 percent so far this year, to 3,831 units, GHAR data show. In a news release praising Greater Hartford's increased March housing sales, GHAR CEO Holly Callanan com- mented: " … In order to see growth in the 2019 spring market, inventory will need to, and probably will, increase." Meantime, the statewide home-sales market isn't fairing much better. In March, Connecticut single-family sales fell for the third straight month, following a four-year low in February. Median prices also hit a three-year low ($243,000) in the first quarter, accord- ing to a sampling by Boston business publisher The Warren Group. "When I look at Connecticut's numbers and compare them to Massachusetts,'' said Warren Group CEO Tim Warren, "the Connecticut market is just not as ro- bust as what we're seeing in Massachu- setts. Some of it could be local conditions, but a lot of it has to do with jobs.'' Connecticut is widely known as the weakest of the New England states in trying to fully recover all of its jobs lost during the Great Recession. The state shed nearly 120,000 jobs during that time, but has only recovered 80 percent of them. Hyperlocal snapshots Antonio Marques, principal-broker at Golden Rule Realty Inc., serving Hart- ford and West Hartford, said he and his small retinue of agents-brokers are seeing "good activity in both markets.'' Buyers in their 30s are pacing the market, Marques said, with many of them easily able to qualify for mort- gages of $300,000 or less that most first-time buyers seek. Hartford buyers, he said, tend to favor owning two- and three-family dwellings, primarily for their revenue potential from renters. Also, certain zip codes in both markets tend to be draws for buy- ers, he said. In Hartford, for instance, the Blue Hills neighbor- hood in the city's north end, and its south end section appeal most to buyers. In Southing- ton, Monmouth County, N.J., mortgage financier Homestake Capital LLC has staked Lovely Development's construction of Eden & Main, a planned 64-unit townhome/apartment community in three buildings that takes its name from the intersection where it will be situated within walking distance of downtown. Twenty-three townhomes will be built and priced from $229,000, said Homestake managing principal Michael J. Kokes. Later, 41 apartment units will be built on the pre-approved tract that Home- stake bought from Plainville developer- builder Mark Lovely, Kokes said. He cited the proximity of Bristol's ESPN and Otis Elevator, and New Britain's Stanley Black & Decker, among other sizable employers, as reasons for erecting new housing in Southington. "There's a lot of pent-up demand,'' Kokes said. "Southington is a town re- ally ripe for development.'' He noted that much of Greater Hart- ford's single-family housing stock was built 40 years ago or longer. "That's a very compelling value proposition,'' Kokes said. Mixed Market Realtors', homebuilders' optimism again reigns amid meek CT home-sales trend Greater Hartford single-family housing market stats Jan.-March Jan.-March % 2019 2018 change New listings 3,831 3,995 -(4.1%) Pending sales 3,538 3,833 -(7.7%) Closed sales 2,097 2,063 1.6% Median sale price $210,000 $215,000 -(2.3%) Source: Greater Hartford Association of Realtors Rob Levine, President, Greater Hartford Association of Realtors RENDERING | CONTRIBUTED Housing developer Michael J. Kokes is managing principal of Homestake Capital LLC. Construction is underway on 23 townhome units for sale in Eden & Main, a planned attached-housing community on the edge of downtown Southington. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

• Cover