- CT Local Housing Market Shows Surprising Strength

August 2008

Connecticut's housing market has lately shown small but perhaps significant signs of resiliency - even as the national housing market continues its long decline. Although new-home starts in the state continue to decline, they are doing at a slower pace than the national average, according to the July Connecticut Economic Digest, which reached that conclusions mostly based on housing permit statistics, median home sale prices and delinquency rates.

According to the state's Department of Economic & Community Development (DECD), the number of housing permits issued by municipalities across the state rose ten percent in June from the same month in 2007. June's total of 740 housing permits also represents nearly a 50-percent increase from the 493 permits that were issued in May.

June's housing-permit total was also the highest since May 2007, when 745 were issued.

However, year-to-date Connecticut building activity remains far behind the first half of 2007. Between January 1 and June 30 of this year, 2,687 housing permits were issued - almost 22 percent less than the 3,444 figure for the equivalent period in 2007.

For the month of June Manchester led all Connecticut municipalities with 141 permits issued. Milford was the second highest, with 106.