RI Home Sales Dip in July
Warwick, RI, August 23, 2017…Single-family home sales dropped 4.2 percent in July from 12 months prior, while the median price of those sales showed a modest increase of 2.9 percent, according to a report released today by RI Realtors. July’s median price of $270,000 was $5000 below that seen in June, but the second highest monthly median sales price of single-family home sales since 2007. The slowdown in July sales occurred just one month after year-over-year, double-digit increases were seen in both sales and median price.
July had the fewest number of single-family homes for sale at the start of the third quarter since 2004. Last month, Rhode Island’s inventory was 15.6 percent below that of July, 2016.
“Clearly Rhode Island continues to struggle with maintaining an adequate supply of homes for sale. Until we turn the corner on that issue, prices will continue to rise. The fact that the median sales price only rose less than three percent last month could be construed as a good sign however. With the exception of last month, prices haven’t skyrocketed this year. They have shown moderate but steady growth which is just what we want to see,” said Brenda L. Marchwicki, president of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.
Condominium sales saw a 9.9 percent jump since July of 2016 and an 11.2 percent hike in median sales price, to $221,250. With 862 listings on the market in July, inventory remained 5.6 percent below that of the previous year.
Closing activity in the multifamily home market showed a healthy 8.4 percent gain and the sector saw the most appreciation of all housing types in median sales price last month. At $227,950, July’s median price was 20 percent higher than that realized in July of last year. The number of multifamily properties on the market fell by 21.4 percent since July of last year.
“The multifamily market is seeing a great deal of investor activity. With rents rising rapidly, real estate is being recognized once again as a sound investment,” explained Marchwicki.
Months Supply: Click here for interactive display
