here. / " title="DECEMBER HOME SALES in Rhode Island fell compared to December 2009, the Rhode Island Association of Realtors said Thursday. For a larger version click here. /"/>WARWICK – December single-family home sales in Rhode Island slipped 9.3 percent compared with the same month in 2009, the Rhode Island Association of Realtors said Thursday.
The association said 529 homes sold in December, down from 583 the year before. December marked the sixth consecutive month that home sales fell compared with the same month in the previous year.
But while home sales fell, prices continued to creep up. The Realtors said the median home price in December was $210,000, up 5 percent from $200,000 in December 2009. Prices have now risen for 14 consecutive months when compared with the same month in the previous year.
“We saw some energy return to the housing market in December and a healthy gain in median prices,” association President Stephen Antoni said. “We’re hopeful that the market will continue to rebound in 2011.”
Elsewhere in the market, sales of multifamily homes plunged 32.6 percent in December to 124, down from 184 as seen in December 2009. The median price rose 16.9 percent to $135,000 from $115,500.
On the condominium front, sales dropped 34.5 percent in December compared with the same month the year before. Across Rhode Island, 76 condos sold last month compared with 116 in December 2009. The median price slid 3.5 percent to $178,500 from $185,000.
The association said it planned to release home sales for the entire 2010 calendar year next week.
