Regional Spotlight—Connecticut single-family home sales recorded modest increases in the second quarter and in the month of June, according to the latest report by The Warren Group, publisher of The Commercial Record.

Second quarter single-family home sales totaled 6,898, a near 1 percent increase from 6,854 in the second quarter of 2012. Single-family home sales in Connecticut also increased slightly in June, rising 0.4 percent, the second straight month of increases. A total of 2,602 single-family homes sold in June, up from 2,591 a year earlier. This marks the best month for sales since last August, when there were 2,639 sales.

"The housing market in Connecticut continues to show slow growth," says The Warren Group CEO Timothy M. Warren Jr. "As long as mortgage rates and home prices don't spike too high, we'll see a very steady recovery year for the market in 2013."

Year-to-date home sales statewide are down about 1 percent. From January to June, a total of 10,947 single-family homes have sold, compared to 11,070 during the same period a year ago. Year-over-year home prices rose 5.6 percent in June. The median sale price of a single-family home statewide increased to $283,000 in June, up from $268,000 in June 2012. This is the highest median price for any month since August 2008.

The year-to-date median sale price is $255,000, up more than 8.5 percent from $234,900 during the same period last year. Quarterly prices are also up more than 8 percent to $269,000, up from $249,000 during the second quarter 2012.

"Buyers have become more active in the spring selling season, which is creating modest upward pressure on prices. While not a problem at this juncture, I hope for more modest increases in the future," Warren adds. "Unlike other parts of the country, Connecticut has not seen double digit increases in median prices. This is healthy. Keeping housing affordable while prices rise gradually will avoid the kind of housing bubble we saw seven or eight years ago."

Connecticut condominium sales increased in June, rising almost 2 percent from a year earlier. A total of 652 condos sold in June, up from 641 a year earlier. Year-to-date condo sales are up almost 1 percent to 2,911 from 2,885 a year earlier.

Condo sales for the second quarter also climbed from a year earlier. In the second quarter, 1,792 condos sold, up 2.5 percent from 1,748 during the same period a year ago. The median sale price of condos also rose in June. The median selling price was $176,000, up more than 7.6 percent from $163,500 a year earlier. The second quarter median condo price increased more than 8 percent to $175,000 from $162,000 in the second quarter 2012. The year-to-date median price of condos in the Connecticut is $168,000, up 5 percent from $160,000 a year ago.

For more information, visit www.Hud.gov.