Last year, sales in Connecticut went up 2.3%. In these ten towns, sales jumped 10 to 30%.

That's where buyers are actually landing right now.

I'm Dave Jones with Dave Jones Realty. This is Part 2 — all new towns — and number one hits closer to home for me than any town I've covered.

How I rank these

By how much closed sales grew from last year. Not prices. Sales.

Prices tell you what people paid. Sales tell you where people are actually going.

And when sales in a town grow four or five times faster than the state, that's a signal. Buyers found something there, and they're all heading for it.

#10 — Danbury: sales up 10.6%

We're starting with the busiest town in all of Connecticut. More people bought here than anywhere else on this list, by a lot — 721 sales.

So when Danbury goes up 10%, that's a lot of people actually moving in.

Median: $440,000 → $465,000 (+5.7%). 29 days on market. 100.8% of asking. 91 homes for sale — 1.5 months of supply.

Why Danbury? It's the most affordable big-city option in Fairfield County. The county median is well above most people's budget. Danbury gives you that county address at $465,000.

You've got I-84 and Route 7, Candlewood Lake, Western Connecticut State University, the Danbury Fair Mall — an actual mall that's still alive and well — and a real downtown with a lot of restaurants.

The mill rate is 24.99, so on a $465,000 sale that's about $8,134 a year. For Fairfield County, that's a great number.

And with 91 homes for sale, if you're moving on a timeline — a job with a start date, a lease ending — Danbury gives you choices a small town simply can't. That matters more than people think.

The honest part

It's a city. Traffic on I-84 and Route 7 is real — I actively plan my driving around going through Danbury at certain times.

If you want quiet and land, Danbury isn't that. If you want access, price, and choices, it might be the best fit on this list.

If you want to know what's actually for sale in any of these towns right now, text me. I can set you up on a search that's far more accurate than Zillow or Realtor.com — it's a direct feed of the MLS.

203-910-2638 | Dave@davejonesrealty.com | searchallcthomes.com

#9 — Columbia: sales up 10.7%

This town went up $45,000 in one year — and right now there are six homes available in the entire town.

It's small, only 62 sales, so the percentage moves more with fewer homes.

Median: $387,500 → $432,500 (+11.6%). 25 days on market. 101.7% of asking. 1.1 months of supply.

More people bought, prices jumped, and now there's almost nothing left. The shelves are empty. That's how a town gets discovered.

Columbia has Columbia Lake right in the middle of town. You're about 15 minutes to UConn and 30 to Hartford. Quiet, rural, and flying under the radar for years — it's up roughly 40% in four years.

The mill rate is 29.27, putting the median at about $8,861 a year.

With six homes for sale, you don't get to browse. You see one you like and you move on it. If Columbia is on your list, get pre-approved well before you start looking.

#8 — Clinton: sales up 12.2%

If you want the shoreline but Madison and Guilford priced you out, this is right next door.

175 sales. Median: $440,000 → $465,000 (+5.7%). 28 days on market. 100.9% of asking. 28 homes for sale — 1.8 months of supply.

A lot of people moving to Connecticut want to be near the water, then they see Madison and Guilford prices and back off. Clinton gives you the shoreline at a lower number.

You've got a Shore Line East station in town, so you can reach New Haven without driving. I-95. Clinton Town Beach. The harbor. Clinton Crossing outlets.

But here's the catch

The mill rate is 31.14. On a $465,000 house that's about $10,136 a year — roughly $845 a month.

Madison next door is 22.43.

So Clinton's lower price gets partially eaten up by the taxes. Compare the monthly payments, not the sticker price.

Still, Clinton is one of the better values on the shoreline. If you love the water and want to stay under $500,000, it belongs on your list — just run the full payment.

And on any shoreline house, ask whether it's in a flood zone. Flood insurance can add a real number to your payment, and some lenders require it. Ask before you fall in love, not after.

#7 — Killingly: sales up 12.6%

Most people moving to Connecticut have never heard of this one. It's up 42% in four years and it still has one of the lowest tax rates in the state.

205 sales. Median: $348,450 → $370,000 (+6.2%). In 2021 it was $260,000. 1.1 months of supply.

It's in the Quiet Corner, right near Rhode Island. It includes the borough of Danielson, and I-395 runs right through it.

Why are buyers showing up? Prices and taxes.

The mill rate is 21.45, which means taxes of about $5,556 a year — around $463 a month.

Think about what you'd do with that difference. The gap between a $463 bill and a $900 one is over $5,000 a year. Every year.

The honest part

It's over an hour to Hartford in most cases. If you're commuting to Hartford, this probably isn't for you. Providence is much closer.

Killingly works for remote workers, for people oriented toward eastern Connecticut or Rhode Island, and for anyone who wants space and a low payment without a commute.

If you're serious about moving into or out of Connecticut, that's what we do — and we love doing it. Give us a call, shoot a text, or book a free Zoom. Let's put a plan together.

#6 — East Haddam: sales up 12.9%

The biggest price jump in this entire article — up $56,000 in one year.

140 sales. Median: $394,813 → $451,000 (+14.2%). 31 days on market. 101.5% of asking. 2.3 months of supply.

East Haddam sits right on the Connecticut River. You've got the Goodspeed Opera House right on the water, Gillette Castle up on the hill, and Lake Hayward over in the Moodus area. It's one of the prettiest towns in the state — and I mentioned it in my lake towns video for a reason.

It's also a big town by land. Some of it's on the river, some on the lake, some deep in the woods. So the median doesn't tell you much about the house you'll actually see.

Pick the part of town first, then pick the house. You'll save yourself a lot of driving.

The mill rate is 28.06, putting the median at about $8,859 a year — roughly $738 a month.

Here's where most people screw this up

They see a town up 14% in one year and think they missed the boat.

You didn't. The window is just getting shorter.

East Haddam still has more supply than most towns on this list — over two months — so you've got room to pick. But that won't last.

#5 — Groton: sales up 13.6%

Three of the largest employers in Connecticut are in this town, and they're bringing people in from all over.

326 sales — so it's a big market. Median: $370,000 → $401,750 (+8.6%). In 2021 it was $287,500. 26 days on market. 100.5% of asking. 1.4 months of supply.

Why Groton? Jobs. Electric Boat is here. The naval submarine base is here. Pfizer has a large research campus here. That's a lot of people who need to live close to work — and a lot of them are relocating from somewhere else.

And here's something unique to this market

With that many military and Electric Boat buyers, people get transferred in and out all year long.

So homes come up all year — November, February, not just in the spring. And a seller moving on orders has a deadline, which means sometimes they're ready to deal.

Best part: you're on the water. Part of Mystic is in Groton. You've got Bluff Point, the Thames River, and New London right across the bridge.

The mill rate is 24.81, putting the median at about $6,977 a year — around $581 a month. For a shoreline town with this many jobs, that's a strong number.

If your job is in southeastern Connecticut, or you want the water under $450,000, Groton might be the most practical town on this list.

#4 — Plainfield: sales up 14.6%

This one has the lowest median price and the lowest taxes on the list. You don't often see those together — the taxes come in at about $440 a month.

173 sales. Median: $325,000 → $353,000 (+8.6%). Back in 2021 it was $257,500 — so up 37% in four years. 101.9% of asking. 25 days on market. 1.9 months of supply.

People are figuring this town out.

Plainfield is right next to Killingly in the Quiet Corner along I-395, and it includes villages like Moosup and Central Village.

The mill rate is 21.36, putting the median at about $5,278 a year.

So think about that: a median under $360,000 and $440 a month in taxes.

A lot of people move to Connecticut assuming that payment doesn't exist here anymore. It does — just not where everybody else is looking.

Same honest part as Killingly: you'll be driving. Commute to Hartford five days a week and it will wear on you fast. Know what you're in for.

And since Plainfield and Killingly sit side by side, you can see both in the same day. You'll learn more in one afternoon than in a month of scrolling listings.

A question worth sitting with

When you picture your life after the move, what does a normal Tuesday look like?

Where are you driving? How long? How often do you get groceries, and what kind of stores do you actually like?

That one question will cross off half the towns on this list. And that's a good thing — it means we're getting closer to the right fit.

And a quick trick for any town here

Pull the property card on the town assessor's website. Take the assessed value, multiply by the mill rate, divide by 1,000.

That's the real tax bill. Don't trust the listing sheet — sometimes it isn't updated, and sometimes it's just typed wrong.

One more important thing

Sales going up does not mean prices are about to explode. It means more buyers chose that town.

Sometimes prices follow, like East Haddam. Sometimes they don't, like the next town.

The sales number tells you where people are going. Your budget and your life tell you whether you should go there too.

#3 — Marlborough: sales up 18.2%

This one's the strange one. The prices barely moved — but buyers are paying almost 5% over asking.

78 sales. Median: $432,000 → $434,000 — up half a percent. 21 days on market. 104.8% of asking — the highest over-asking figure in this entire article. 1.6 months of supply.

That's a town where more buyers showed up and they're competing for what's there.

If you expect to pay asking price, you are going to lose.

So how do you compete?

Look at what the last few sales in your price range actually went for, and how far over. That's your starting point — not the list price.

Make your offer clean. Strong pre-approval. As much down as you can manage. A reasonable inspection window. A closing date that works for the seller.

Sometimes the best offer isn't the highest number. It's the easiest one to say yes to.

Why are people showing up here? Location.

Marlborough sits on Route 2 between Glastonbury and Colchester, about 20 minutes to Hartford — so you can get to a Yard Goats game or UConn basketball easily. You've got Lake Terramuggus and a small-town feel without being far from anything.

And Glastonbury next door has a median of $567,500. So you get the same general area for about $130,000 less. That's why buyers are crossing the line and overbidding.

The catch

The mill rate is 37.74. On a $434,000 house that's about $11,465 a year — just under $1,000 a month. The highest tax bill on this list.

Great location, but you pay for it every month. Know that number going in.

And Marlborough is small — 78 sales all year, with only about 10 homes for sale right now.

You can sleep on it. You just may never get to sleep in it. Have your agent pull sold comps and be ready to write an offer the day you see it. That's not pressure — that's how a low-inventory market works.

#2 — Brooklyn: sales up 18.6%

This town just went through a revaluation, so the tax rate reset — and there's barely a month of homes left on the market.

115 sales. Median: $400,000 → $420,000 (an even 5%). 31 days on market. 101% of asking. 1.1 months of supply.

Brooklyn is also in the Quiet Corner, next to Killingly. It's home to the Brooklyn Fair, which runs every August and bills itself as the oldest continuously operating agricultural fair in the country.

It's farmland, stone walls, old New England. Route 169 runs right through it — a National Scenic Byway and one of the prettiest drives in New England, especially in October. Pomfret and Woodstock are right next door, and you're still minutes from I-395.

The revaluation

The mill rate dropped from 29.54 to 23.28.

That does not mean taxes got cut. When a town revalues, assessments usually go up and the rate comes down.

At 23.28, that's about $6,844 a year — around $570 a month. A reasonable bill at a reasonable price.

And here's what a fresh revaluation is worth to you as a buyer: the tax bill you calculate is close to the one you'll actually pay, for a couple of years. In a town that hasn't revalued in a while, the bill can jump.

Brooklyn's price history tells the story: $310,000 in 2021, $314,500 in 2022, and then $400,000 by 2024. The jump is when buyers found it — and it hasn't slowed down.

It's the kind of town you drive past on your way somewhere else. That's exactly why people are only now finding it.

Notice something?

Three of these ten towns are in the Quiet Corner: Killingly, Plainfield, and Brooklyn.

That's not an accident. Low tax rates, prices under $425,000, and a lot of space.

A lot of buyers who work from home are doing that math and ending up in that corner. If you don't need to be near Hartford every day, don't need the city, and don't need to be by the water — put the Quiet Corner on your list.

#1 — Prospect: sales up 30%

From 70 sales to 91. That's a 30% increase — thirteen times the state average.

Median: $404,000 → $440,000, up $36,000. In 2021 it was $332,950. 21 days on market. 101.4% of asking. Just two months of supply.

It also just revalued

The mill rate dropped from 32.14 to 25.57. On a $440,000 house that's about $7,876 a year — roughly $656 a month.

Naugatuck is right next door at 39.79. Waterbury is on the other side at 44.98.

Prospect sits between Waterbury and Cheshire with Route 8 and I-84 about ten minutes away. It's quiet, it's small, and it's close to everything.

And I've lived here for 50 years. Our office is right on Route 69 in the center of town — I've even got two speed camera tickets on that road to prove it.

For years, nobody moving to Connecticut had ever heard of it.

We also know this town better than anybody: 40% of every home that sold in Prospect last year, we sold.

All ten, side by side

# Town County Sales Sales ▲ Median Price ▲ DOM % Asking Supply Mill Est. Tax
1 Prospect New Haven 91 +30% $440,000 +8.9% 21 101.4% 2.0 mo 25.57 ~$7,876
2 Brooklyn Windham 115 +18.6% $420,000 +5.0% 31 101.0% 1.1 mo 23.28 ~$6,844
3 Marlborough Hartford 78 +18.2% $434,000 +0.5% 21 104.8% 1.6 mo 37.74 ~$11,465
4 Plainfield Windham 173 +14.6% $353,000 +8.6% 25 101.9% 1.9 mo 21.36 ~$5,278
5 Groton New London 326 +13.6% $401,750 +8.6% 26 100.5% 1.4 mo 24.81 ~$6,977
6 East Haddam Middlesex 140 +12.9% $451,000 +14.2% 31 101.5% 2.3 mo 28.06 ~$8,859
7 Killingly Windham 205 +12.6% $370,000 +6.2% — ~100.4% 1.1 mo 21.45 ~$5,556
8 Clinton Middlesex 175 +12.2% $465,000 +5.7% 28 100.9% 1.8 mo 31.14 ~$10,136
9 Columbia Tolland 62 +10.7% $432,500 +11.6% 25 101.7% 1.1 mo 29.27 ~$8,861
10 Danbury Fairfield 721 +10.6% $465,000 +5.7% 29 100.8% 1.5 mo 24.99 ~$8,134

Brooklyn and Prospect both revalued this year — their mill rate drops reflect reassessment, not a tax cut. Tax estimated as median × 0.70 × (mill rate ÷ 1,000). Statewide closed sales rose 2.3% over the same period.

Two things worth reading off that table.

First — Marlborough and Plainfield. Marlborough's median is $81,000 higher and its annual tax bill is $6,187 higher. More than double, on towns in the same state in the same year. That's a $516-a-month difference before you've touched the mortgage.

Second — look at Marlborough's price column against its asking column. Prices up half a percent, buyers paying 4.8% over list. That's the clearest "more buyers than houses" signal on this page, and it hasn't shown up in the median yet. It will.

The takeaway

Sales move before prices do. Every town here saw buyers arrive faster than the state average — some have already repriced, and some haven't yet.

Those are two different opportunities, and knowing which one you're looking at changes how you write the offer.

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

Market data reflects SmartMLS annual report figures and current fiscal year mill rates; both change continuously, and mill rates are reset annually. Tax figures are estimates — your actual bill depends on the town's assessed value for the specific property. Revaluations change assessments and rates together, so a rate drop is not a tax cut. Medians in smaller markets can move substantially on the mix of homes that happened to sell. Flood zone status and flood insurance requirements vary by property and lender; verify before making an offer. Past sales and appreciation do not predict future prices and nothing here is investment advice. For school information, we recommend GreatSchools.org and visiting districts directly; for safety information, consult local police department reports. Buyers researching any Connecticut community should conduct their own independent due diligence on all factors relevant to their decision.

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