RI Median Price for Single Family Home Falls, Finally

RI Median Price for Single Family Home Falls, Finally

The September numbers are out for housing prices in Rhode Island and for the first time in months, the median price of a single-family home fell to $385,000.

Year over year prices did increase more than 13% from September of 2020.

In August, the median price of single-family homes sold in Rhode Island reached a record $390,000. The August data is a 17.1% increase year-over-year.

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“The single-family home market has been incredibly competitive and the properties that are available for sale are put under contract so quickly, that it appears some prospective buyers took a break. Also, the spread of the delta variant affected the market last quarter, keeping some buyers at home and making some prospective sellers think twice about listing their home,” said Leann D’Ettore, President of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.

 

Condos

The condominium sector also showed a median price gain, though the increase was more conservative. At $272,250, the median price of condos sold in the third quarter represented a 6.8% increase from 12 months earlier. Closing activity, however, remained relatively flat, rising just .3 percent year-over-year.

In contrast, the multifamily home market showed no signs of slowing. The median price of multifamily home sales saw the largest growth, rising 21% to $375,000. And, unlike the single-family home and condominium sectors, closing activity continued at a frenzied pace, increasing 43% from the previous year. Low rental vacancies, rising rents and low-interest rates appear to be enticements too good to pass up for investors, as well as buyers shut out of the single-family home market.

 

Out of state buyers still buying a piece of the Ocean State

Buyers from other states accounted for 24.8% of total residential sales with the most buyers coming from MA, NY, and CT. In the luxury market, buyers from outside of Rhode Island accounted for half of all properties sold for $1 million or more. Coastal markets saw a higher influx of out-of-state buyers.

“Despite the rise in prices, we’re still a bargain compared to many other resort areas and larger urban centers,” commented D’Ettore.

Third-quarter closes with September bringing fewer sales of single-family homes and condominiums

September closed out the third quarter with a slowdown in activity among single-family home sales for the third consecutive month and a year-over-year decrease in condominium sales for the first time in more than a year.

The supply of homes available for sale during September remained below that of last year, though slight gains have been made since earlier this year. The 1.8-month supply of homes on the market in September remained far below the six-month supply typically considered to be a market balanced between supply and demand.