Home Sales Continue To Slow In RI, Median Price Reaches $375,000

PROVIDENCE, RI — The latest data is out, and for the fifth month in a row, home sales in Rhode Island are on the decline.

According to the Rhode Island Association of Realtors, the number of closings fell by 8.2 percent in November. It looks like sales activity could increase in December, however, since homes put under contract but not closed were up by 2.7 percent.

Prices, however, continued to climb. In November, the median price for a single family home was $375,000, up by 16.1 percent from this time last year.

"Though prices are escalating, houses are moving," said Agueda Del Borgo, the association's president. "Sales may have dropped from 12 months earlier, but they still hit a second-best record for November. Preliminary data for December shows that sales should continue to be strong through the remainder of the year."

According to Realtor.com's 2022 economic forecast, the Providence metro area is expected to be the sixth-highest in the country next year in terms of listing price appreciation and home sales growth.

Home inventory, a problem in Rhode Island throughout the pandemic, continues to plague the housing market. The low number of single-family homes for sale drove buyers to other options, RI Realtors said, bumping condominium sales by 11.7 percent and multifamily home closings by 4.7 percent.

"With the threat of climbing interest rates and rising rents, buyers are focused on securing a home with a steady mortgage payment to help stabilize expenses," Del Borgo said. "They’re often competing with out of state buyers who are turning to Rhode Island because our market is still a bargain, even with the rise in prices that we’ve seen. The median single-family home price in Massachusetts last month was $520,000. Compare that to our median price of $375,000, add in the allure of coastal living and close proximity to Boston, and it’s easy to understand Rhode Island’s appeal. But, with the increased number of those buyers adding to the depletion of our housing inventory, there’s much work to be done to shore up our housing stock."