R.I. home prices fall 6.1% in March

PROVIDENCE – Prices for single-family homes in Rhode Island fell 6.1 percent in March compared with the same month last year, CoreLogic said Tuesday.
However, when distressed sales – foreclosures and short sales – were removed, the price fell eight-tenths of 1 percent, the real estate tracking firm said.
Nationally, CoreLogic said its Home Price Index declined 7.5 percent in March 2011 compared with the same month last year. Removing distressed sales, prices fell 1 percent.
“Last year the first-time homebuyer tax credit pulled a significant number of sales forward and, to an extent, artificially supported prices,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist with CoreLogic. “So, absent the tax credit, it is understandable that we see prices continue to decline when compared with last year. As we move further away from that support, we will see a leveling of prices and eventually organic improvements in the market.”
CoreLogic released its index a week after the Rhode Island Association of Realtors said the median home price in the Ocean State fell 4 percent in March compared with the March prior. The association tracks only sales by its members.
California-based CoreLogic says it builds its index using a combination of collected property data, historical data and statistical modeling.