While 2020 marked the worst of times for many Rhode Islanders, for those selling high-end homes it was an absolute banner year.
As this week’s cover story reports, home sales and values broke all records in the state, with the high end shining brightest.
Sales of homes worth $1 million or more jumped 58% from 2019, the previous record year.
Historically low interest rates certainly fueled buying, but there are signs that the pandemic has also created some unique circumstances feeding the frenzy.
But real estate specialists say temporary travel restrictions across the country last year had many buyers rethinking their lifestyles. And some saw the rapid rise in opportunities to work remotely as an incentive to buy property in less-densely packed communities.
Fitch Ratings Inc. did sound an alarm in the third quarter that home prices nationally – and even more so in Rhode Island – are overvalued.
But local Realtors and agents expect the good times to continue this year, in part because supply remains limited.