RHODE ISLAND ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, INC.

"The Voice of Real Estate in Rhode Island"
Serving Rhode Islanders Since 1948
Follow us:

Press Release

Contact: Kerry Park
Ph: 401-432-6948
Email: kerry@rirealtors.org

RI Association of REALTORS ® Releases 2007 Year-End Sales Statistics for Condos and Multi-Family Properties

May 7, 2008….First quarter home sales statistics released today by the Rhode Island Association of REALTORS® (RIAR) indicate Rhode Island’s median single family home sales price declined from first quarter of 2007 by 9.93 percent, from $272,000 in 2007 to $245,000 this year.  The median price does not necessarily reflect similar properties year to year, but represents the mid-point of the marketing mix (size and price) of properties sold during the period.  If more lower priced homes sell during the period, the median is lowered; if more higher priced homes sell, the median price increases.

The volume of single family sales also decreased from 1617 sales during the first quarter of last year to 1242 this year and the number of days a property remained on the market increased by 10 days. 

Price and sales were not down all over the state. Single family home prices rose in 14 Rhode Island communities and single family sales volume rose in eight.  Overall, price appreciation reached double digit percentages in nine areas, including Little Compton, Middletown, Jamestown, Warren, the East Side of Providence, Scituate, South Kingstown, Narragansett and East Greenwich.  Fourteen towns saw double-digit price depreciation including Providence and other urban areas which are home to the most significant number of pending foreclosures.

Commenting on the market, Rob Scaralia, President of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors said, “What we’re experiencing is a problem of consumer confidence due to all the negative talk about the economy.  We need to put things in perspective.  We’re not seeing anywhere near the unemployment rates that we saw during the Great Depression.  We don’t have interest rates in the high teens like we’ve seen in the past.  Foreclosures have risen but the great majority of homeowners aren’t in foreclosure.  Banks are still writing mortgages at great interest rates and properly priced homes are still selling.”

Scaralia points to market reports which fail to accurately describe what’s happening in local markets as a cause of consumer concern.  “Just over 1000 properties were advertised for foreclosure in the first quarter of this year and not all of those foreclosures went through.  Those that were advertised account for only about ten percent of the total properties for sale but despite the other 90 percent, the foreclosures are coloring everyone’s view of the market,” he said.  Scaralia emphasized that it is critical that consumers understand what’s happening in their local market so that they can be informed and realistic in their expectations.  Though appropriately priced homes are selling within four months, some homeowners are keeping their properties on the market for months before reducing the price to a realistic level.
 
Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors is advocating a home buyer tax credit to encourage skittish buyers to get off the sidelines and jump into the market.  Yun, who was recently named one of the top ten economists in the country by USA Today, said home sales were hampered due to subprime loans disappearing from the marketplace and that home prices were negatively impacted as a result. He predicts however, that “much safer government backed FHA loans will steadily make a greater impact in lifting sales in the second half."
Signs of a slowdown in the market moderation showed in the condo sector with prices down only .75 percent.  Though the number of condo sales declined by 36.92 percent, days on market decreased to 100 from 112 last year.  Multi-family properties were the hardest hit, down 38.8 percent in price and 19.20 percent in volume.
“There was a feeding frenzy for investment properties from 2000 to 2005 which drove prices up,” commented Scaralia.  “Now we’re seeing a correction of that market sector."

Rob Scaralia

2008 REALTOR®
State President

About the Rhode Island Association of REALTORS®

The Rhode Island Association of REALTORS®, the largest professional organizations in Rhode Island with approximately 5,000 members in nearly 700 offices, has been serving Rhode Islanders since 1948. Advocating for Rhode Island 's property owners, the Rhode Island Association of REALTORS® provides a facility for professional development, research and exchange of information among its members and to the public and government for the purpose of preserving the free enterprise system and the right to own real property.

Last year, Rhode Island REALTORS® were involved in over 10,600 real estate transactions with a total sales volume of $3.5 billion. The Association is one of more than 1,800 local boards and associations that comprise the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America 's largest trade association, representing over one million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries and who subscribe to a strict Code of Ethics.