R.I. Realtors: October home sales rise <br>but prices continue to fall

WARWICK – Although October single-family homes sales in Rhode Island rose 15 percent compared with the same month of 2007 – the second consecutive month of year-over-year growth – the median price of the homes sold continued to decline, according to statistics released today by the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.
The 621 homes sold in October topped the 540 homes sold during the same month last year.
The median price for the units sold, however, fell 18.73 percent, from $258,500 last October to $215,000. RIAR pinned the steep decline on the large number of foreclosures and short sales, which represented 28 percent of October sales, adding that without those distressed sales, the median price would have been $252,000.
“We’ve seen a lot of bad news about the value of housing, high unemployment and bad economic conditions, but it’s important to see the whole picture,” RIAR President Paul A. Leys said in a statement. “The vast majority of Rhode Islanders … those who bought before 2005, would realize a profit if they sold their home today. And while unemployment is over 9 percent, that means more than 90 percent are still employed.
“We’re not trying to downplay the terrible situations that some Rhode Islanders are facing, but it’s important to keep perspective, because consumer confidence drives the market. There are clear indications that Rhode Island was among the first to enter the housing correction, and it appears that we’re among the first states coming out of it.”
Pending single-family home sales increased 17.92 percent year-over-year and inventory fell 5.43 percent, from 6,468 homes on the market to 6,117 homes on the market. “The increase in pending sales coupled with the decrease in inventory signifies that Rhode Island is moving toward a more balanced market,” the RIAR said in a statement.
October condominium sales were down 41.8 percent to 82 condos sold in the month. Of those 82 sales, 11 were short sales or foreclosures. The median price of condominiums sold increased 2.94 percent to $227,500.
Rhode Island multi-family home sales rose by 124.4 percent, “fueled by dramatic price reductions,” RIAR said. October prices fell 49.12 percent year over year, from $228,000 to $116,000. And short sales or foreclosures accounted for 74.6 percent of the 193 multi-family homes sold.
Citing statistics from Calif.-based real estate data collector RealtyTrac Inc., RIAR also reported that the Rhode Island market’s foreclosure rate decreased 5.52 percent from September to October. Nationally, the foreclosure rate rose 5.11 percent during the same period.
“Like most states, we’re far worse than the last year in terms of foreclosure rate,” Leys said, “but the good news is Rhode Island is one of the few states where that appears to be slowing down as we move the distressed properties off the market.”
The Rhode Island Association of Realtors has nearly 4,500 member Realtors who last year were involved with more than 14,000 transactions totaling more than $4.24 billion. RIAR is one of the more than 1,800 local boards and associations of Realtors comprising the nation’s largest trade association, the National Association of Realtors. For additional information, including a municipal breakdown of the statistics, visit www.RILiving.com.