PROVIDENCE – The median price of a single family home in Rhode Island in 2020 was $319,900, a rise of 12.3% year over year, the Rhode Island Association of Realtors said on Friday.
Sales of single-family homes in the state also rose 5.1% from 2019, to 11,602 in 2020.
RIAR also said that market inventory declined significantly in the year, from 2.6 months of supply in 2019 to 1.4 months of supply in 2020. A balanced market between supply and demand is six months of supply, according to the association.
The association also noted that out-of-state buyers drove up demand, along with urban residents seeking coastal properties, lower-cost areas, or properties with more space as well as home offices amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Today’s buyers are vastly different than those we were dealing with a year ago. They’re looking for more space, home offices and a lower cost of living – all thanks to the ability to work remotely,” said Leann D’Ettore, president of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.
D’Ettore also said that the pandemic led to more high-end buyers in Rhode Island.
“At a time when many people were suddenly able to purchase their dream properties because they weren’t tethered to their location by their jobs, Rhode Island had mass appeal. Our lower cost of housing, open space and coastal location, all within a few hours driving distance of New York and Boston, attracted an unprecedented number of high-end buyers.”
The median price of a condominium in Rhode Island was $248,000 in 2020, a rise of 6.4% year over year. Condo sales declined 1.7% year over year to 2,273.
Multifamily home sales declined 4.2% year over year to 1,947 in 2020. The median price of a multifamily property in the state in 2020 was $310,000, a rise of 14.8% year over year.
