Home Real Estate Housing Single-family home sales, prices rise in September ahead of conveyance tax increase

Single-family home sales, prices rise in September ahead of conveyance tax increase

By

Katie Castellani

-

10/21/2025

4D8T1fGq-AP21112564516530-1-1-1-1-1-1-696x464 — WHILE SINGLE-FAMILY home sales in Rhode Island dropped in July and August, they spiked in September as the median sale price also jumped, The Rhode Island Association of Realtors said Monday. / ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO/ROGELIO V. SOLIS

WARWICK – After dropping in July and August, single-family home sales in Rhode Island spiked in September along with the median sale price, The Rhode Island Association of Realtors said Monday. There were 826 single-family home sales in September, marking a 19.5% increase over last year. Also, the median sales price rose 9.3% over last

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WARWICK – After dropping in July and August, single-family home sales in Rhode Island spiked in September along with the median sale price, The Rhode Island Association of Realtors said Monday. There were 826 single-family home sales in September, marking a 19.5% increase over last year. Also, the median sales price rose 9.3% over last year to reach $530,000, the association said. Condominium sales also rose 23.6% and multifamily home sales increased by 20.8% in September. But unlike single-family homes, median prices for both condominium and multifamily homes fell. The median price for condominiums dipped 2.3% to $417,450 and multifamily homes fell by 0.8% to $590,000. The association noted a strong stock market, higher home equity and lower mortgage rates helped boost sales. But the driving force behind the increased sales activity was likely a 63% increase in the sales conveyance tax, which went into effect Oct. 1. The association saw a 31% drop in sales during the first two weeks of October, compared with the same period last year. Chris Whitten, the association’s president, raised concerns about the increased conveyance tax's effect on the market, as the state is already facing a housing shortage. “We understand the dire state of Rhode Island’s budget was why the tax increase happened, but balancing the budget on the backs of our already struggling housing market doesn’t help,” Whitten said. HousingWorks RI’s 2025 Housing Fact Book, released last week, painted a grim picture of the state’s housing market. In recent years, Burrillville was the only city or town in the state to meet the affordable housing threshold for two-bedroom rentals, but lost that designation this year, according to the Fact Book. Also, no city or town offers options affordable to homebuyers making the median household income of $112,858. Since 2018, wages have grown by less than 30% while housing costs in Rhode Island have risen by more than 60%, according to the Fact Book. (Katie Castellani is a PBN staff writer. You may contact her at Castellani@PBN.com.)