PROVIDENCE – Home prices are rising in Providence, according to data released by the Multiple Listing Service. But that data can obscure what appreciation really looks like for homeowners because it includes flips and substantive renovations.
A study released this week by Peter M. Scotti & Associates examined home, condo and multifamily sales in Providence over the past five years by zooming in on paired sales data – the transactions involving houses that were bought and sold between 2012 and 2017.
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Scotti then discarded data from properties that were renovated or significantly altered, to observe market impacts rather than a price moved by an expansion or renovation.
“It’s a good way to show this is really what’s happening,” said Scotti.
What did he find?
In Providence, excluding the East Side, 53 single-family homes were purchased and then resold that fit the criteria. From January 2013 to September 2017, the median prices increased by 25 percent.
By comparison, the Multiple Listing Service data for the same period reported a 57 percent increase, with the median sale price moving from $105,000 to $165,000.
In the condo market outside the East Side, Scotti found a more-robust market than would be shown through MLS data. Eighty-nine condos in Providence met the criteria of his study.
From 2013 to 2017, the sale price increased 49 percent over the observed period. But those transactions included 63 sales in the Waterplace condominium building, in downtown Providence, many of which were purchased at a deep discount, then resold.
Discarding those sales, Scotti found 26 condo sales, and a median price increase of 31 percent.
MLS statistics, he noted, had the median price for a condo in Providence decreasing by 19 percent.
On the East Side of Providence, traditionally tracked as a separate real estate market than greater Providence, the study also found a stronger result than the overall data.
In condos, 43 properties fit the criteria of the study, Scotti reported. Their sales increased 25 percent over the five-year span. By comparison, the MLS data for that period indicates East Side condos decreased by 3.77 percent.
In single-family sales, 70 homes were bought and resold during the study period. Their prices increased 20 percent between 2012 and this year. MLS data indicates the prices rose by 15 percent.
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at macdonald@pbn.com.
