Figures released by the R.I. Association of Realtors this week for the first quarter of 2006 show that the number of home sales decreased from the 2005 figures from the same period and that the pace of sales hit its slowest point since 2000.
However, Realtors and a local economist said there is no threat of crisis yet.
The number of single-family home sales for January, February and March dropped from 1,825 last year to 1,597 in 2006, a drop-off of 12.49 percent.
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The first quarter of last year represented more than 18 percent of the year’s 9,711 sales in Rhode Island.
Also, while median prices of condominiums rose 21.12 from 2005’s first quarter to $230,000, sales of the units dropped from 453 to 373. Multi-family homes decreased from 528 to 381, with median prices rising a modest 3.2 percent.
Leonard Lardaro, a professor of economics at the University of Rhode Island, said the first-quarter statistics are representative of a weakening housing market in the state. However, despite the decrease in sales, Lardaro expects sales to “mosey along.”
“I don’t see it picking up, I don’t see it resembling anything like it was,” Lardaro said. “But I think you’re going to see moderate activity.”
Michele Caprio, president of the Realtors association, said the sluggish first quarter may have been the result of increased prices – including a median single-family home sale price that jumped 16.18 percent from 2005’s first quarter – and the increased supply on the market.
The amount of time that homes sit on the market, which increased from an average of 74 to 82 days in the first quarter, was partially the result of more homes on the market, Caprio said. With more homes for sale, Caprio said consumers have more options to choose from when purchasing a home.
“It’s really a great market for home sellers,” she said. “Buyers have the option to do what they want.”
