RI Real Estate Robust in March Despite Pandemic

RI Real Estate Robust in March Despite Pandemic

You may not be able to tour a house in-person or send in an inspector in to review the property, but that did not stop Rhode Island’s real estate market from continuing to be hot.

RI Realtors numbers show single-family home sales rose slightly year-over-year in March and pending sales  – those under contract but not yet closed – dropped negligibly, down .4 percent.

The median price of those sales was $300,000, a 13.2 percent gain.

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It is unclear how the April coronavirus lockdown will impact sales and prices.

Realtors on Record

The realtors said, “Though some closings were delayed, realtors were busy last month putting the finishing touches on deals commenced before the onslaught of barriers brought on by COVID-19. Pivoting quickly to working as remotely as possible, showings, inspections and closings took place throughout March – many of them virtual.”

National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun remarked that he believes home prices will remain stable because of a pandemic-induced reduction in inventory coupled with less immediate concerns over foreclosures. Rhode Island housing inventory fell further in March, continuing a trend of shrinking supply marked by double-digit monthly declines for most of the past year.

“Of course, it’s too early to tell exactly what will happen in the housing market but if there’s good news in all of this, it’s that we don’t have the same conditions that we had in the earlier downturn. Our loans are shored up by stricter guidelines and the government has taken steps to help homeowners with conventional loans avoid foreclosure if the virus affects their ability to pay their mortgage. Plus, the buyers were out there in droves at the beginning of the spring selling season so if some don’t resume their home search, that could actually help to create a more balanced market.  The bottom line is, it really depends on how long this goes on,” said Shannon Buss, President of the RI Association of Realtors.

In other market sectors, sales activity and median sales price rose while pending sales dropped. Sales activity rose by 5.8 percent from 12 months prior among multifamily home sales and the median sales price rose 11.3 percent, while pending sales dropped by 4.9 percent.