Not only is it hard to judge the quality of the Greater New Haven market by looking at national trends, you have to know town (and neighborhood), plus price range, in order to make a prediction about how quickly a property will sell. Multiple offers are common on well-priced homes in towns without enough supply, and they are much more likely in price ranges frequented by first-time homebuyers. And those price ranges are different where? You guessed it-town to town, and neighborhood to neighborhood.
Even those parameters may not explain everything. We've seen waterfront property fly off the market lately, mostly in the $1 to $2 million dollar category. Some of that is by neighborhood, but I think it has more to do with the length of time since the last hurricane on our immediate coastline, plus the consequent lower prices we have been experiencing, which eventually have reached compelling levels. If that's not squishy enough, there's also the stock market to consider-volatile markets, especially when they are high, tend to lead people to divest stocks and buy real estate. That's both because they suddenly have more disposable cash, and because they are looking for a tangible place to put it.
All of this is by way of saying that you cannot simply look at Boston or NYC, and conclude that we must be a blend of those two markets. One is hot, although cooling on the multi-offer scale (Boston), and the other is suffering from oversupply at the top end and a new mansion tax. What to do? Read local, shop local, and use a local Realtor!
