WARWICK – The median price of single-family homes sold in Rhode Island continued to climb in February, rising 4.4% year over year, while sales fell for the 12th consecutive month, the Rhode Island Association of Realtors said Friday.
The median sales price in February rose to $384,000, while the number of homes sold fell 29.4% to 392, compared with the same month last year.
The association said 864 single-family homes were listed in February. The supply of homes for sale last month was 9.5% more than 12 months earlier.
“Our median sales price continues to grow in large part due to having more move-up homes than starter homes on the market,” Bryant Da Cruz, president of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors, said in a statement. “Prospective buyers trying to break into the market for the first time are facing an uphill battle with few choices and interest rates higher than we’ve seen in several years. That said, rates are still lower than the 50-year average of more than seven percent and homeowner equity is holding its own.”
Condominium sales fell 43.5% to 83 year over year in February, while multifamily home sales decreased by 52.7% to 71 in that time. The median condominium sales price increased 1% to $308,000, while the multifamily home sales price rose 9.8% to $450,000.
“Given that housing is such an important economic driver, we’ll be cautiously watching what happens to the rates following the recent bank closings as we head into what is typically our busiest time of the year,” Da Cruz said. “Many economists are now predicting a lower-than-expected rate increase when the Federal Reserve meets next week. Mitigating mortgage rate increases is always good news for the housing market.”
