KINGSTON – Rhode Island’s economy ended the second quarter on a down note, according to a monthly economic report compiled by University of Rhode Island economist Leonard Lardaro.
Lardaro’s Current Conditions Index dropped from a “neutral” value of 50 in May to a below-neutral 42, with only five of the index’s 12 measures showing improvement for the month. A value below 50 means that the state’s economy is contracting.
While retail sales grew a surprising 3.2 percent in June – despite dipping consumer confidence nationally – single-family housing permits dropped 15.8 percent in the month, the latest in a string of sharp declines. The report calls the home construction lull “a potential cause for some concern,” especially given the recent rise in mortgage rates.
There was some improvement in the state’s labor market, however, with the labor force expanding by 3.5 percent and new claims for unemployment insurance dropping 10 percent. And Rhode Island’s 5.7 percent unemployment rate remains below the national rate.
Multi-family home sales hit high mark
WARWICK – Sales of multi-family homes in Rhode Island hit their highest level in 15 years during the first half of 2003, driven by a shortage of single-family homes and low mortgage rates, according to the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.
Re-sales of two-, three- and four-family homes sold in the state via the Statewide Multiple Service Listing (MLS) reached a record 1,051 during the first six months, barely eclipsing the 1,047 multi-family homes resold during the first half of 2002.
The mid-year median sales price for multi-family homes pushed higher for the sixth consecutive year, to its highest level ever. The median-priced multi-family home in Rhode Island costs $190,000, a 37.6 percent jump from mid-year 2002, when the median multi-family home price was $138,100.
A recent association report shows that, despite the torrid appreciation in single-family home prices in recent years, multi-family homes have surged even more.
From 1996 through mid-year 2003, the median sales price of a multi-family home increased 134 percent, from $81,000 to $190,000, while the median single-family home price increased 96 percent, from $112,500 to $220,000.
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