Moving to Connecticut in 2027? 7 Towns Set to Explode (#1 Is $300,000)

Are you thinking of moving to Connecticut?

I'm Dave Jones with Dave Jones Realty, and these seven towns have gone up 30, 40, even 57% in the last four years — and they're not done.

The last town on this list you can still buy in for around $300,000, and it went up 16% last year alone. That's the one I'd be watching.

How I picked these seven

I looked at every town in Connecticut. I kept the ones still under $450,000. I threw out the tiny ones where a handful of sales swings the whole median. And I left out every town from the first four videos in this series — these are all new.

Then I ranked them by how much they've gone up in four years, and I checked that houses are still selling fast. If a town ran up and then stalled, it isn't here. These are towns that are still running.

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#7 — Stafford: $313,000, and you can hear the racetrack from anywhere in town

Way up near the Massachusetts line, in Tolland County. The typical house runs about $313,000 — up 35% in four years and up 10% last year.

The clues

This town has a racetrack that's been running since the 1870s. It started as horse racing at the fairgrounds, and now it's stock cars every Friday all summer. On a summer night you can hear it from all over town.

It also has mineral springs that people once traveled from across New England to visit, because they believed the water could cure them. One of those visitors, back in 1771, was John Adams — before he was president.

This is Stafford, and the village is Stafford Springs. Stafford Motor Speedway, the springs, Shenipsit State Forest, and the old mill buildings along the river.

Why it's on the list

Sellers in Stafford got almost 105% of asking last year, and homes went under contract in about two weeks. For a town this far out, that's buyers telling you something. People are finding it.

The honest part

Stafford is out there. You're about 15 minutes to I-84 and 35 to 40 minutes to Hartford. Taxes run about $706 a month on the typical home, which is on the higher side of this list.

But if you work from home, or you're oriented toward Springfield or Worcester, or you work at UConn — only about 25 minutes away — Stafford gets you a lot of house for the money while you still can.

And Stafford isn't trying to be anything. A real downtown with old brick buildings along the river, woods and ponds everywhere, and on a Friday night in July half the town is at the speedway. It's a real place.

Quick thing. If you want to see what's actually for sale in these seven towns, go to searchallcthomes.com and set up a search once. You'll get new listings the day they hit — and it's more accurate and current than Zillow or realtor.com, because it's a direct MLS feed.

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#6 — Waterford: the lowest mill rate on this list, on the shoreline

This one's on the water, in New London County. I was showing houses there this weekend. The typical house runs around $406,000 — up about 35% in four years.

The clues

This town has a giant mansion directly on the Sound that used to be a private estate and is now a state park. People get married on the lawn and picnic in the gardens overlooking the water.

It has a famous theater center where some of the biggest plays and musicals in America got their start before they ever reached Broadway. And it has a nuclear power plant — which is a big part of why the taxes are so low.

This is Waterford. Harkness Memorial State Park, the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, and Millstone.

Waterford has the lowest mill rate on this entire list

A typical house there runs about $530 a month in property tax. That is a big deal.

Think about the combination: you're on the shoreline, right next door to New London, about 15 minutes from Mystic, right on I-95 — and your tax rate is lower than most inland towns. That combination doesn't usually last.

One thing worth understanding: Waterford has the lowest mill rate here, but not the lowest tax bill. New London and Willimantic both come in lower in dollars, because their houses cost less. The rate and the bill are two different questions, and you need to run both.

You've also got Waterford Beach on the Sound, the Waterford Speedbowl right off I-95, and Harkness — honestly one of the prettiest spots in the state on a fall afternoon.

And I'll be straight with you about the power plant

Some people do not love the idea of living in a town with a nuclear power plant. That's a real feeling and it's your call.

But it's been there since 1970, it employs a lot of people, and it's a big reason the tax bill is what it is — a large industrial taxpayer carries a share of the grand list that would otherwise sit on houses. Know it going in and decide for yourself.

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#5 — Berlin: 22 houses for sale in the entire town

Back in Hartford County. The typical house runs about $425,000 — up about 39% in four years.

The clues

The tinware business in America got its start here, around 1740. Two brothers — Edward and William Pattison — began making tin pots and pans in town, and peddlers carried them all over the colonies.

It has a mountain on its border that's one of the best-known rock climbing spots in the state, with cliffs right above the reservoir. And it has a train station on the Hartford Line.

This is Berlin. Ragged Mountain, the Berlin train station over in Kensington, and the Berlin Turnpike running right through it.

And yes — it's pronounced BUR-lin, with the stress on the first syllable. Not ber-LIN like the city in Germany. Say it the German way and the locals will know you're not from here.

Why Berlin is on the list

Sellers got almost 104% of asking. Homes went under contract in about two weeks. And at the end of the year there were only 22 houses for sale in the whole town.

You're right in the middle of the state — Hartford 20 minutes north, New Haven about 30 minutes south — and Berlin still has a lot of open land. Farms and farm stands along the back roads. It doesn't feel like you're in the middle of the state, even though you are.

Taxes run about $760 a month on the typical home. Real money — but budget for it and you're fine. For a central town with its own train station, that's what people are paying for.

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Here's where most people get this wrong

They see a town on a list like this and wait until spring to go look. And by the time they get there — the prices went up again.

These towns went up 35 to 57% in four years. Waiting costs you money. The best time to buy real estate was yesterday. The second best time is today.

That's what we do. We've been helping people relocate into and out of Connecticut for almost 20 years, with about 140 agents across the state, and we're on pace to help 700 families this year.

Book a free call. Tell us where you work, what matters to you, and what you like to do with your free time — and we'll help you find the town that actually works.

Call or text: 203-910-2638 — no pressure, just a plan.

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#4 — Newington: the world headquarters of ham radio, and one month of inventory

Hartford County again. Typical homes run around $355,000 — up 44% in four years.

The clues

This town is the world headquarters of ham radio. The ARRL — the national association for amateur radio operators — is based here, and there's a station on site that people from all over the world talk to.

It's got a park in the center of town with a waterfall, and every summer the whole town turns out for a festival they call the Extravaganza.

This is Newington. The ARRL, Mill Pond Park and Falls, the Newington Extravaganza, and the CTfastrak busway — which gets you into downtown Hartford without sitting in traffic.

Newington is a town where people stay

They grow up there, they buy their first house there, they buy their second house there. And when people don't leave, houses don't come up for sale.

Here's what gets me about Newington. It was one of the fastest-selling towns in the whole state last year. Homes went under contract in two weeks. Sellers got 105% of asking. And at the end of the year there was one month of supply. That's it. One month.

The honest part

Newington's taxes are high — about $828 a month on the typical home, the highest on this list. So run your real payment.

But you're about 10 minutes from Hartford, 10 from West Hartford, and close to New Britain and Farmington — and you're paying a lot less for the house than you would in West Hartford.

It's a neighborhood town. Sidewalks, older capes and colonials, a sprinkling of raised ranches. Newington doesn't show up on the fancy lists. It just keeps selling.

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The three things that make a town explode

1. It's cheaper than the towns around it that everybody already knows about.

2. It's easy to get in and out of — a highway, a train line, a busway, an airport nearby. The more connections, the better.

3. There aren't enough houses for sale.

When you have all three, prices move. Every town on this list has at least two. The ones with all three move faster.

And you can check this yourself on any town

• How long are houses sitting before they go under contract? Two or three weeks means the town is moving.
• Are houses selling over asking? Over asking means buyers are competing.
• How many houses are for sale right now versus how many sold last year? Under about two months' worth means there aren't enough.

If a town checks all three boxes and it's still cheaper than its neighbor — pay attention.

And the honest part about "set to explode"

It's not a guarantee. Rates can move. The economy can move. Nobody can promise you a town goes up by a certain amount.

But these seven towns have gone up for four years straight, and the things that pushed them up are still there. That's what I'm betting on. It is not a forecast, and it is not investment advice.

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#3 — New London: walk to a train that runs Boston to New York, for $300,000

Back on the water in New London County. Typical houses are still only around $300,000 — up 46% in four years and up 10% last year.

The clues

This town got rich in the 1800s hunting whales. It was one of the biggest whaling ports in the world, and they still call it the Whaling City.

It has a military academy right on the river where officers train on tall ships. It has ferries leaving from downtown for Block Island and Long Island. And a Nobel Prize-winning playwright grew up here — the summer cottage he grew up in is still standing and you can tour it.

This is New London. The Coast Guard Academy and the tall ship Eagle. Connecticut College. Ocean Beach Park — where we took our kids every summer — with the boardwalk, the big sandy beach, hermit crabs right on the shore, and a pool overlooking the Sound. The ferries. Eugene O'Neill's Monte Cristo Cottage. And Union Station right downtown with Amtrak running up and down the coast.

(And yes — the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center back at #6 in Waterford is named for the same man. He's all over this stretch of coast.)

Think about what that actually means

You can walk to a train that runs from Boston to New York. Boston is about two hours. New York about two and a half. You can walk to a ferry that goes to an island. And the typical house costs about $300,000.

Taxes run about $476 a month — one of the lowest dollar figures on this entire list.

Two things to know about that number. New London went through a revaluation that took its rate from roughly 37 mills down to the 27s — assessments were reset upward at the same time, so that drop is not a tax cut. And if you buy inside the City Center District downtown, there's a small additional district rate on top, which adds roughly $17 a month on a house at this price. Small, but ask before you write the offer.

New London is a small city, and it's not for everybody

It has a real downtown and a lot of old houses. Some streets are fixed up and some are not yet.

Here's the thing about small cities like this: the fixed-up streets keep getting bigger. Every year a few more old houses get redone, a few more restaurants open downtown, and the line moves. If you buy on the right street now, you're buying ahead of the line.

That's where a good local agent actually earns the money — knowing which streets, not just which towns.

If you want to be on the water, near a train, at a price that starts with a three — New London is one of the last places on the Connecticut shoreline where you can still do it.

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Have you noticed something about this list?

Waterford. New London. A lot of these towns are near the water, near a train, or both.

That's not a coincidence. That's what people are paying for right now.

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#2 — Plainville: it took a breath, and that's your window

Hartford County. Typical house price is $325,000 — up 48% in four years.

The clues

Every Labor Day weekend this town fills the sky with hot air balloons. The volunteer fire company has run a balloon festival for decades, and people come from all over to watch them lift off at sunrise.

It has its own little airport where you can learn to fly, and it sits right where I-84 and Route 72 meet — so you can get just about anywhere in central Connecticut fast.

This is Plainville. And there's really nothing plain about it. The balloon festival, Robertson Airport, Norton Park, and about 20 minutes to Hartford.

If you've never been to the balloon festival, get there before sunrise, grab a coffee, and watch a couple dozen balloons go up. It's one of those things that makes you feel like you live somewhere else. You're not just buying a house — you're buying the town around it.

Here's why Plainville is interesting

Prices basically took a breather last year. They dipped about 1%.

So why is it #2? Because everything else about Plainville says it's still running. Homes went under contract in two weeks. Sellers got 104% of asking. There's one month of inventory.

This is not a town that's slowing down. It paused.

And when a town has gone up 48% in four years and then takes a breath while it's still selling fast — that breath is your window. You might get it at last year's price. And if it starts running again, you're already in. That's the whole game. Get in on the pause.

Plainville is practical

Farmington, Bristol, Southington and New Britain all touch it, and you can reach almost anything in central Connecticut in 15 minutes. It's not a flashy town. It's a town that works every day for the people who live there — and honestly, those are the towns that keep going up.

Taxes run about $652 a month on the typical home. For a town this central at this price, that's a fair number.

Compare that to Newington right up the road at $828. Same general area, and $176 a month separates them. That's the mill rate doing the work, not the house.

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Two quick things before the last one

I don't do crime stats — check with the local police department and the state's published data before you pick any town. And I don't rank schools. The website I keep sending you to has the GreatSchools link built right in, so you can look at it yourself.

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#1 — Windham and Willimantic: up 57% in four years, still around $300,000

The last clues

They call this place the Thread City, because a hundred years ago it had some of the biggest thread mills in the world.

It has a bridge with four giant frogs on it, each one sitting on a spool of thread — because of a legend from a night in 1754 when the whole town believed it was under attack. It turned out to be the frogs.

And every Fourth of July they throw a parade with no marching band. Everybody just carries a radio tuned to the same station.

This town is Windham, and the city inside it is Willimantic. The Frog Bridge, the old thread mills, the Boombox Parade, Eastern Connecticut State University right in town, and UConn about 15 minutes away.

The numbers

Typical house prices run about $300,000 — up 57% in four years, and up 16% last year alone. That's the biggest jump on the whole list. A little over a month of homes for sale.

That's why it's number one. The biggest four-year run, the biggest jump last year, and still around $300,000.

But here's something you have to know before you shop here

Windham has separate taxing districts, and the difference is real money.

The town's base rate produces about $487 a month on a $300,000 house. But most of what I just described to you — the Frog Bridge, the mills, downtown, ECSU — is in Willimantic. And the Willimantic taxing district adds its own rate on top.

That's up to $175 a month — more than $2,000 a year — depending on which side of a district line the house sits on. Same town. Same median price.

So before you make an offer anywhere in Windham, ask which district the property is in. This is the single most important question on this entire page, and it's the kind of thing that doesn't show up on a listing site.

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All seven, side by side

2021 medians are derived from the stated four-year percentage change, not separately reported.

Tax estimated as median sale price × 0.70 assessment ratio × (mill rate ÷ 1,000). Estimates describe the median house, not any specific property. Windham figures use the town base rate — see the district table above, because Willimantic runs materially higher.

Three things that table makes obvious

Newington and New London have nearly identical tax dollars attached to very different houses. Newington's bill is $828 a month on a $355,000 house. New London's is $476 on a $300,000 house. A $55,000 difference in price, and a $352-a-month difference in tax — more than $4,200 a year. The cheaper house is cheaper twice.

Waterford has the lowest rate and the fourth-lowest bill. 22.38 is the best rate on the page by a wide margin, but the house costs $406,000, so the bill lands at $530. A low rate on an expensive house is not the same as a low bill. Run the dollars, every time.

And look at the two towns at $300,000. New London and Windham have the identical median. New London is up 46% in four years; Windham is up 57%. But if the Windham house is in Willimantic, its tax bill is $186 a month higher than the New London house. Two towns, same price, and the district line decides which one is actually cheaper to own.

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So which one could you see yourself in?

The racetrack town. The town with the mansion on the water. The whaling city. The one up 57% that still starts with a three.

We're one of the most trusted relocation teams in Connecticut, and we've got your back moving in or moving out.

Call or text: 203-910-2638 Email: Dave@davejonesrealty.com Search every home in Connecticut: www.searchallcthomes.com

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Market data reflects the most recent full year of closed sales reported through SmartMLS and is subject to revision; medians move and these figures will age. Property tax figures are estimates calculated on each town's median sale price using Connecticut's 70% assessment ratio and that town's stated mill rate — they are not a quote on any individual property, and your actual bill depends on that specific home's assessed value and which taxing district it sits in. Several Connecticut towns, including Windham and New London, levy additional district rates on top of the town rate; always confirm the district before making an offer. Towns that have recently revalued may show a lower mill rate without a corresponding drop in the actual bill. "Set to explode" describes past performance extended forward, not a prediction — appreciation is not guaranteed, rates and economic conditions change, and nothing here is investment or tax advice. For school information, see GreatSchools.org and contact the district directly. For public safety information, contact the local police department and review the state's published data yourself. Always conduct independent due diligence on any town and any property before buying.

Dave Jones Realty LLC | Serving New Haven, Hartford, and Litchfield Counties