Condominium sales were in big demand last year, so much so that they were the fastest selling category of residential properties in Rhode Island, according to the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.
According to RIAR, condominiums sold faster last year than single-family and multi-family homes, staying on the market for an average of 54 days from January through December of 2000. Single family homes were on the market for 88 days, and multi-family home 95 days.
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The State-Wide Multiple Listing Service (MLS) subsidiary of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors reported a record 1,283 condominium sales during 2000, with figures only slightly ahead of the year before when 1,260 units were sold. According to RIAR, 2000 marked the greatest number of condominium sales since 1986, when condominiums first became a distinct category in the market.
While the number of units sold rose, so too did the median sales price. The 2000 year-end median sales price of $102,500 — is nearly a 16 percent increase from the median sale in price 1999.
“The surge in sales of condominiums experienced throughout 2000 clearly helped boost this segment of the market to another record level for the year,” said Estelle Smith, CRS GRI, president of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors, and co-owners of Benchmark Associates in Middletown. “Despite rising interest rates through the mid-year, many positive economic factors have remained in the market to entice both first-time buyers and people trading-down to simpler lifestyles.”
According to the National Association of Realtors the driving force behind condominium sales is the result of a combination of factors, including affordable mortgage interest rates, a good job market, and consumer confidence in housing. Another major factor: an exceptionally strong demand by more affluent, first-time buyers who want to move from renting to owning, and retirees and empty nesters trading down from large single-family homes to a well-appointed condo.
“The supply of entry level homes for sale in Rhode Island still remains at a premium and is pushing some first-time home markets where properties are more affordable,” Smith said.
Nine cities and towns combined for 851 sales, attracting two-thirds of the Rhode Island condominium buyers in 2000, with North Providence earning the top spot, with 160 sales.
Despite the growing interest in condominiums, the supply has declined steadily over the last eight years by greater than two-thirds, from as many as 1,000 listings at any one time to the mid-February level of under 300.
