New Canaan Home Values Rising, New Data Says

The value of a “lower tier” New Canaan home is increasing at a higher rate than the town has seen in seven years, according to new data from the University of Connecticut School of Business.

UConn’s Center for Real Estate and Urban Economic Studies every three months produces and updates “constant quality” price indices for 69 towns in Connecticut, including New Canaan. The indices estimate the values for homes with specific characteristics, neutralizing variables such as inflation, demand and seasonality to compare market data over time.

Strictly for purposes of comparing data, a “lower tier” home in New Canaan is defined as a 32-year-old house with 2,279 square feet.

In the fourth quarter of 2012, such a home was worth $764,224—a 4.3 percent year-over-year increase from Q4 of 2011. That rise represents the largest such gain since the first quarter of 2006, according to the data.

Also noteworthy is that the values of New Canaan homes in each of the three “tiers” that UConn tracks in the fourth quarter of 2012 increased for just the second time in seven years (the other being the third quarter of 2010).

Realtor Carol Barbour of Barbara Cleary’s Realty Guild in New Canaan says that now that the spring market has started in earnest, there are great opportunities for buyers and sellers alike (see video).

The following table lists the value—this is the value, for comparative purposes, not the “selling price” that you would find in a MLS—of homes in New Canaan at each of the three tiers, going back to when the data first was collected in 2000.

Where it says “N/A” that means not enough homes were sold to form an idea of the value in that tier.

The characteristics of homes in each tier are defined in the key below the table.

 

Year Quarter Low Tier* Mid Tier** High Tier*** 2000 1 $641,320 $867,077 $1,092,294
2 N/A $816,193 $1,013,480
3 $678,513 $883,339 $1,116,291
4 $614,874 $883,362 $1,140,550 2001 1 $700,703 $1,030,901 $1,257,214
2 $716,692 $942,919 $1,109,090
3 $738,478 $959,614 $1,138,884
4 $670,380 $917,314 $1,147,998 2002 1 $777,723 $1,103,270 $1,303,103
2 $819,543 $1,083,321 $1,200,926
3 $852,156 $1,144,139 $1,327,551
4 N/A N/A N/A 2003 1 $803,362 $1,237,279 $1,391,678
2 $813,090 $1,093,685 $1,168,549
3 $866,413 $1,138,252 $1,244,092
4 $896,714 $1,246,832 $1,376,119 2004 1 $942,412 $1,358,869 $1,603,076
2 $953,042 $1,279,138 $1,449,012
3 $993,185 $1,328,216 $1,484,095
4 $1,008,230 $1,398,566 $1,460,765 2005 1 N/A N/A N/A
2 $1,052,939 $1,431,948 $1,547,747
3 $1,091,271 $1,450,188 $1,691,374
4 $1,082,295 $1,538,730 $1,675,303 2006 1 $1,086,305 $1,527,612 $1,695,002
2 $1,075,273 $1,408,178 $1,669,090
3 $1,082,516 $1,394,386 $1,705,347
4 $1,055,785 $1,480,971 $1,636,973 2007 1 $1,043,817 $1,467,008 $1,631,407
2 $1,015,780 $1,392,204 $1,596,188
3 $1,036,975 $1,407,758 $1,627,416
4 $1,016,151 $1,473,974 $1,566,297 2008 1 $985,868 $1,400,932 $1,552,388
2 $978,121 $1,340,809 $1,472,100
3 $958,143 $1,342,471 $1,467,508
4 $849,327 $1,314,476 $1,440,698 2009 1 N/A N/A N/A
2 $737,134 N/A $1,190,330
3 $772,957 $1,045,034 $1,189,087
4 $759,410 $1,150,610 $1,204,750 2010 1 $788,034 $1,180,779 $1,195,670
2 $763,509 $1,202,246 $1,170,341
3 $783,116 $1,087,853 $1,201,452
4 $755,982 $1,146,880 $1,250,684 2011 1 $764,655 $1,169,772 $1,246,184
2 $717,619 $1,217,077 $1,189,721
3 $746,295 $1,051,998 $1,200,881
4 $732,430 $1,023,862 $1,157,719 2012 1 $730,943 $1,023,937 $1,142,675
2 $690,523 $1,081,346 $1,151,648
3 $744,164 $1,027,556 $1,207,560
4 (partial) $764,224 $1,069,644 $1,173,951 *A 32-year-old home with 2,279 square feet
**A 40-year-old home wth 2,851 square feet
***A 45-year-old home with 3,341 square feet