Strong sales momentum in the second quarter brings markets ahead in volume year to date compared to first half of last year, as inventory improves and median prices continue to rise
STAMFORD, Conn., July 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Sales improvements in single family home sales in the second quarter of 2026 were strong enough that many markets finished the first half of 2026 ahead of the first six months of 2025 in closed dollar volume, according to a new report just released by William Pitt-Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty. The report details annual market results in Fairfield, Litchfield and Hartford Counties and the Shoreline in Connecticut, the Berkshires in Massachusetts, and Westchester, Putnam, Columbia, Dutchess and Ulster Counties, New York.
The report stated that the closed volume increases represented a positive turnaround from the more sluggish performance of the first quarter. While closed volume rose year over year, unit sales were still lower than this time last year in most markets served by the firm.
Virtually every market is seeing a disparity between closed volume and units, with the percentage change for dollar volume always an improvement over the percentage change in units, whether it is increasing year over year at a higher rate than units or decreasing at a lower one. The reason for this spread is that the product mix selling continues to favor higher priced properties, while at the same time median sale prices continue to move ever upward in nearly every market.
In addition, properties are typically trading for higher than their asking prices, the report found. The ratio of list to closing price is especially high in mid-tier price ranges. In Fairfield County, for example, properties overall averaged a sale price 3.2% above their initial asking price, but property sales between $1.5 and $2 million saw a list to ask ratio increase of 7.8%. In Westchester these stats were even higher. County-wide, properties sold for an average of 5.3% over their listing price, but that percentage elevated to 9.7% in the $1 to $2 million price bracket.
Competition is the driving force behind this dynamic as the balance of supply and demand remains heavily weighted toward the benefit of sellers. Housing markets remain challenged by an ongoing lack of inventory amidst a backdrop of heightened buyer demand. In a positive sign for buyers and a reversal of the trend from the first quarter this year, total standing inventory rose in the second quarter over the same time last year in most counties.
“The increase in total inventory gives us reason to feel bullish on strong sales momentum in the coming months,” said Paul Breunich, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of William Pitt-Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty. “Economic factors at the macro level remain points of uncertainty, but we do not expect to see much effect on the pace of our markets any time soon. Demand is continuing at a very consistent pace, and inventory increasing again to meet that demand will further facilitate robust sales activity.
The First Half 2026 Market Watch is available on the firm’s website at williampitt.com.
About William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty and Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty
Founded in 1949, William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty and Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty manages a $5.5 billion portfolio with more than 1,100 sales associates in 29 brokerages spanning Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York. The company is one of the largest Sotheby’s International Realty(R) affiliates globally and the 34th-largest real estate company by sales volume in the United States. For more information, visit the website at williampitt.com.
Sotheby’s International Realty’s worldwide network includes 1,075 offices throughout 81 countries and territories on six continents.
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SOURCE William Pitt-Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty
