A strong showing in December helped Connecticut’s single-family housing market level off from 2008, with year-over-year single-family home sales down only 1.9 percent in 2009. But the median home price fell 10.1 percent from 2008, and condo sales slid sharply compared to 2008, according to the Warren Group, publisher of The Commercial Record. A total of 24,401 single-family homes were sold in 2009, down from 24,863 in 2008. The total was boosted by a strong December, with single-family home sales rising 34.8 percent to 2,216 from 1,644 in December 2008. It was the strongest sales pace for the month of December since 2006. The median price for a single-family home in Connecticut retreated 10.1 percent to $240,500 in 2009 from $267,500 in 2008. December’s median home price rose 3.6 percent to $238,250 from $230,000 in December 2008. It was the first increase in monthly median home prices year over year since November 2007.

Urban Pace, a Washington, DC, real estate sales company, announced that it has completed sales at the Nine, a condominium project in the revitalized Ninth Street corridor. Square-foot prices at the project averaged in the mid-$500’s. Located near the Convention Center and Historic Penn Quarter, the Nine was developed using forward-thinking principles of sustainability and historic preservation. All materials taken down during rehabilitation were recycled, either within the project itself or for other uses. All materials acquired for use in the project came from within a 500-mile radius of Washington. The building also features a green roof as well as HVAC systems that do not emit CFCs. Urban Pace was established in 2001 to provide specialized sales and marketing services to builders and developers of urban condominium and townhome projects.

Urban Pace also announced the sale of what it calls “a truly unique masterpiece,” a pre-Civil War home in Washington, DC, that has been transformed into a carbon-neutral residence ranking in the top 1 percent most energy-efficient homes in the nation. Some of the features that make the home carbon-neutral are an Owens Corning Energy Complete system, geothermal heating and cooling zoned throughout the home, reused materials from the original building, a tankless hot water heater, a Blueline energy management system, and a permeable paving system in the backyard. It also incorporates Energy Star appliances from Wolf and Subzero. The rehabilitation of the property was carried out by Greenspur, a local design/build firm.

Sales of single-family homes in Rhode Island jumped nearly 12 percent in 2009 compared to 2008, the first increase in year-over-year home sales since 2004, according to the latest report from the Warren Group. Median home prices for the year, however, continued to sink, falling 13.8 percent from 2008. A total of 7,669 single-family home sales transactions were recorded in 2009, up 11.9 percent from 6,856 in 2008. The increase was in sharp contrast to the previous three years when sales declined by double-digit percentages, according to the Warren Group. December home sales surged 30 percent to 650 from 500 in December 2008. It was the strongest sales pace for the month of December since 2006. The median price for a single-family home tumbled 13.8 percent to $200,000 from $232,000. This was the second straight year that median home prices have dropped 14 percent year over year. December’s median home price managed to climb 3.8 percent to $197,200 from $190,000 during the same in 2008. It was the second consecutive month that monthly median home prices increased year over year.