R.I. home prices rise in 2013 for first time since 2010

THE MEDIAN PRICE of single-family homes in Rhode Island rose 8 percent in 2013, to $205,000 from $190,000 in 2012, according to the Rhode Island Association of Realtors. The increase represented the first year-over-year increase in single-family home prices over a 12-month calendar period since 2010. / BLOOMBERG FILE PHOTO/TY WRIGHT
THE MEDIAN PRICE of single-family homes in Rhode Island rose 8 percent in 2013, to $205,000 from $190,000 in 2012, according to the Rhode Island Association of Realtors. The increase represented the first year-over-year increase in single-family home prices over a 12-month calendar period since 2010. / BLOOMBERG FILE PHOTO/TY WRIGHT

WARWICK – Rhode Island single-family home prices ended two years of annual declines in 2013, climbing 8 percent compared with 2012, the Rhode Island Association of Realtors said Thursday.

The median sale price ended the year at $205,000, up from $190,000 during the previous 12 months.

Sales volume rose 10 percent in 2013, the second consecutive annual increase. There were 8,844 houses sold in 2013, up from 8,029 in 2012.

With sales up and inventory dropping in 2013, the average number of days on the market for single-family listings dropped 12 percent to 92 days.

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Distressed sales, transactions involving short sale or foreclosure, fell 17 percent.

“The Rhode Island housing market definitely made good strides last year,” said Rhode Island Association of Realtors President Robert Martin in a news release. “Agents were busy and homeowners regained some lost equity. Though things slowed down in the fourth quarter, we’re hopeful that homeowners who have been waiting for the market to get on more solid footing will decide to sell in the next few months.”

In other areas of the market, the median sale price for multi-family buildings rose 8 percent, from $120,000 in 2012 to $130,000 last year.

Multi-family sales were virtually flat, with four more transactions last year than in 2012.

Condominium sales, on the other hand, surged 29 percent last year, with 1,640 transactions compared with $1,268 in 2012.

The median condominium sale price climbed 13 percent last year, ending at $197,250, up from $175,000 at the end of 2012.

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