State Home Prices,

Sales Rise In January

HARTFORD (AP) — A real estate tracking group says sales prices for single-family houses in Connecticut rose about six percent in January compared with the same month last year, a possible sign that the worst of the housing downturn may be over.

The Warren Group reported Monday that the median price rose to $238,900 from $225,000 in January 2009, the second monthly year-over-year increase in a row.

The Boston-based firm also says sales rose nearly 20 percent to 1,277, continuing a trend of increasing sales.

Price gains were influenced by double-digit increases in Fairfield and Middlesex Counties, with Fairfield showing a 30 percent increase in the median sale price to $485,000 compared with January 2009.

Hartford’s 4.7 percent dip in median prices was the only drop in the state.