Million Dollar Homes? CT Ranks 6th in USA

There has been discussion during Connecticut’s ongoing state budget shortfall about the disproportionate impact of the state’s wealthiest residents, and how overall state revenues are affected when some of those residents decide to relocate to lower-tax states. Now, national data analyzing million dollar homes is underscoring Connecticut’s standing as being among the states where the ultra-wealthy have roots.

An analysis by Overflow Data and Visual Capitalist ranks Connecticut in the top ten among states with the highest percentage of homes worth more than one million dollars.  Connecticut ranks sixth, with 4.5 percent of homes surpassing that threshold.

Ahead of Connecticut are only Washington, D.C. (17.3%), California (13.6%), Hawaii (13.5%), New York (7%), and Massachusetts (5.2%).

Connecticut’s standing may slip in the coming years.  In a review of cities where million dollar listings have “skyrocketed,” increasing over the past three years, the leaders were Denver, Santa Rosa (CA), Boulder, Truckee (CA), Fredericksburg (TX), Heber (UT) and Boston.

The share of homes valued at more than $1 million has surged more than fourfold since 2002, according to recent data compiled  from real estate site Trulia, which analyzed the luxury real estate market in the top 100 U.S. metropolitan areas, and reported by CBS News.  Across those regions, about 4.3 percent of homes are now worth at least $1 million, compared with about 1 percent in 2002, said Trulia senior economist Cheryl Young told the network.

The five metropolitan areas with the largest share of homes worth $1 million in 2017, according to CBS News, are: San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, Fairfield County, CT, and Long Island, New York.

The network reported that rising real estate values, tight inventory and a lack of new construction are contributing to the surge in million-dollar homes. Another factor may be at play: rising income inequality, which has benefited the bank accounts of America's richest families, the network report noted.