It is somewhat unusual to see prices up when unit sales are down in a market, but that has been the case with sales of single-family homes in Stratford for the first nine months of 2014 compared to the same period last year.
As indicated in the adjacent chart, unit sales are down 4% and prices are up 5%.
“Mortgages have been more difficult to get,” said Jerry Ward, regional brokerage manager of William Pitt Sotheby’s Real Estate Stratford office.
“Contracts are up significantly,” Ward said, which indicates there is still demand, but so is the “fall-through rate,” which is the number of contracts that do not convert to closed sales, often because the potential home buyers do not get a mortgage approved.
Another reason that prices of single-family Stratford homes are up is that, last year, there were more homes sold at the low end, including more foreclosures, and that segment of the market is now “cleared out,” according to Ward.
The distribution of inventory is now weighted toward the higher prices, which reflects the higher average price of homes sold.
Consistent with this analysis are the numbers showing that the biggest percentage increases in units and prices are in the upper end of the market. 
According to Ward, among the increased number of single family homes now on market are more homes at the higher end “testing the market.”
Having fewer foreclosures sold this year has also contributed to homes, on average, selling a little faster. Foreclosures tend to take longer with a more complex settlement process between lenders and debtors.
In the Stratford condominium market, where unit sales were up 18% in the first nine months of the year, Ward said there are now more condo complexes that are FHA-approved, which means more lenders are able to make loans for the local market than were able to last year.
Source: Fairfield County Consolidated MLS
Ward said, “A lot of young families like condos as a segue between renting and a single-family home.”
Source: Fairfield County consolidated MLS