The New Canaan real estate market took a wild ride last year.

After a steep run up in prices in the first half of the decade, home values started to level off. Then in September of 2008, as a result of the national credit crisis, home sales in New Canaan slowed to a grinding halt. As a result, there were no sales at all in January 2009 and the remaining of the first quarter 2009 was also pretty dismal with 10 sales in total for the quarter representing a drop of 66 percent.