Condominium sales in Rhode Island are setting records for the first three quarters of this year. The statewide Multiple Listing Services (MLS), a subsidiary of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors, reports a record 967 condominium sales during the first nine months of 1999. This figure is a 23 percent gain over last year’s sales when 786 similar properties were sold, January through September. The 1999 third quarter median sales price of $87,500–with half the prices higher and half lower–is a slight decrease from last year’s $90,000 mark during the same period. The third quarter median sales price is also lower than the $89,500 third quarter mark in 1997. The median sales price generally reflects the quality and the types and sizes of the properties being offered at the time.
The number of condominiums on the market for sale has declined steadily the last eight years from nearly 1,250 listings in the first week of November 1990 to the current first-of-the-month level o fewer than 350, representing less than a three-month supply.
Seifert Systems Invests in Energy Efficiency to Strengthen Operations
For manufacturers, energy is more than just another operating expense. It plays a critical role…
Learn More
According to Ron Phipps, president of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors and president of Phipps Realty of East Greenwich, “This is a great time to purchase a condominium. A moderate supply combined with an increase in demand usually drives prices up, but we have yet to see this reflected in the market as a whole. And those looking to sell, they get the benefit of selling the property quicker.”
Phipps added, “The record sales can be attributed to the historically low interest rates throughout the year and a growing segment of the population interested in the lifestyle that condominium living can offer. Additionally, with condominium median prices close to $40,000 less than a single-family home, they present an affordable alternative to renting or purchasing a single-family home but have all the tax benefits associated with home ownership.”
Phipps expects a continued expansion in interest in condominium purchases for the remainder of this year and into 2000.
Eight cities and towns combined for 596 sales, attracting 62 percent of the Rhode Island condominium buyers in the first nine months of 1999. And of the cities and towns in Rhode Island recording condominium sales, 22 equaled or exceeded last year’s sales record through the third quarter.
Newport, with 122 condominium sales has top billing as the condominium sales leader in Rhode Island during the first nine months of 1999. This is a record sales year for Newport, improving from 91 condominium transactions during the same period last year. The third quarter median sales price dropped by 13 percent from $136,000 in 1998 to $118,000 this year.
Vincent A. Marcello, president of Newport County Board of Realtors and owner of Bellevue Realtors, said, “Like other aspects of the residential market, they (condominiums) have been booming lately. They were the last to catch on, but they are on fire now. Most of the people that are interested in condominiums here are out-of-state buyers from New York, Connecticut and the Boston area looking at second homes, but a few are trade-up buyers looking to retire.”
Cumberland registered 54 condominium sales with a median sales price of $112,950 during the first three quarters of 1999, increasing from 38 condominium sales and a median sales price of $90,350 last year at this time.
“Demand is very high while inventory in northern Rhode Island is at its lowest ever,” said Holly Appleggate, president of the Northern Rhode Island Board of Realtors and a broker at Residential Properties Ltd. in Cumberland. “Condominiums continue to grow in popularity, but there aren’t enough of them for the increased demand. This is a dramatic change from a decade ago. We are seeing four times the number of condominium sales in this area of the state than we did in 1990. Most communities in northern Rhode Island need a larger inventory. It will be interesting to see how this supply factor will affect prices the remainder of this year and into next year.”
Condominium sales tied their second highest level in Smithfield in over 10 years. Fifty-three condominiums were sold through MLS with a median sales price of $77,500 during the first nine months of this year, equaling the 53 sales but down from a median sales price of $85,000 during the same period in 1998.
In South County, Narragansett had 43 condominium sales in the first nine months of 1999, 11 more sales than the 32 similar sales registered last year during the same period. The median sales price of $164,000 was up from $145,750 in 1998.
Condominiums were on the market for a shorter average period of time before being sold–109 days through the third quarter of 1999 compared to 143 days during the same period in 1998. Condominiums are also selling faster this year through the third quarter than they have since 1988, when the average selling time was only 105 days.
The Realtors’ association previously reported a record 7,233 single-family properties with a median sales price of $125,000 were sold from January through September of 1999, shattering the previous sales record of 6,258 similar properties and a median sales price of $122,000 during this period last year. They also reported that during the first nine months of this year, resales of two- , three- and four-family homes transacted through MLS reached 1,179 in the state. This represents a 21 percent sales increase from last year’s third quarter level of 977.
Warwick had 110 condominium sales registered from January through the end of September, 35 more than last year’s third quarter sales mark of 75. The median sales price declined slightly to $67,355 in the first nine months of this year from $70,000 at this same period in 1998.
North Providence came in with 90 condominium sales during the first nine months of this year. Sales were up 20 percent from 75 units while median sales price decreased nearly 7 percent in North Providence from $66,000 to $61,500 last year to this year during this time.
Condominium sales on the East Side for the first nine months of the year more than doubled from last year, rising from 43 condominium sales in 1998 in the first three quarters to 90 this year during the same period. The East Side also showed the highest gain in the state in the number of condominium units sold and the percentage of increase.
When the median sales price increases significantly, buyers who are in the lower end of the market must look to other housing as an alternative,” said Janice DePetrillo, president of the Greater Providence Board of REALTORS. “For example, buyers who can afford a $150,000 to $175,000 entry level house, which is now priced between $200,000 and $250,000, must seek an alternative. For that buyer who wants an East Side location, the alternative is a condominium.”
