Moody's Downgrade

Connecticut's general-obligation bond rating was cut one level to Aa3 in January by Moody's Investors Service, which said it's susceptible to financial market fluctuations because of dependence on taxes on capital gains from wealthy residents and employment in financial services.

Connecticut debt has earned 3.3 percent this year, the least among U.S. states and trailing the 5.3 percent return on the broader $3.7 trillion municipal market, according to Barclays Plc data. New York, which may be get its highest credit rating in four decades after Standard & Poor's yesterday boosted its outlook to positive from stable, has gained 4.8 percent.

Changes in compensation practices at banks are responsible for pulling down prices in the lower Fairfield County area, said Mark Pruner, an agent with Prudential Connecticut Realty in Greenwich. Wall Street firms have curbed pay and changed formulas to limit expenses, with some giving more stock and deferred cash and less immediate payout.

Average Bonus

The average Wall Street bonus fell 13 percent last year to $121,150, the lowest since 2008, and almost 40 percent less than the $191,360 reached in 2006, according to projections by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

A big jump is unlikely for 2012. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley reported the worst first half revenue since 2008, which they blamed on low interest rates and a reduction in trading and deal-making brought on by concerns about European government finances and slowing domestic growth.

Issuance of jumbo mortgages, which are too large for government-supported programs, is falling in Connecticut amid lower demand and tighter lending standards. The dollar volume in Fairfield County, where the loan limit for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans is $601,450, fell 14 percent to $739 million in the first half from a year earlier, according to Boston-based Warren Group.

Prospective Buyers

Jeffrey Weisz, an executive at a company that invests in green-energy projects, put his five-bedroom house on five acres (2 hectares) in New Canaan up for sale five months ago for $1.2 million. While prospective buyers came to "kick the tires," he received only one offer, which fell through because the borrower didn't qualify for a mortgage. He said his neighbor has had three offers fall through because of financing problems.