Home prices drop slightly in Providence metro, says LPS

By Lindsay Lorenz
PBN Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE – Prices of residential properties in the Providence metro area experienced a 0.1 percent drop from October to November, according to Lender Processing Services Inc.’s most recent Home Price Index report.

The LPS index represents the prices of non-distressed sales by taking into account price discounts for lender-owned properties (or REO) and short sales and is compiled using property and loan-level databases.

Providence, the nation’s 39th largest metro area that LPS covers, listed an average home price of $207,000 for both months. The figures represent a 1.8 percent increase since November 2011 when the price was $203,000.

On a national scale, the latest HPI report also notes a home price of $207,000 for November, which represents a 0.5 percent increase since October, and a 5.1 percent increase since November 2011.

The Providence metro area’s HPI peaked in June 2006 at $278,000, reflecting a 25.8 percent decrease as of November 2012.

During November, home prices also dropped slightly in the states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, which saw 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent declines, respectively.

The states were ranked ninth and 10th, respectively, in the report’s list of the nation’s bottom 10 “biggest movers.”

Rhode Island and Massachusetts were the only states to experience declines in the index.

Topping the list of biggest positive movers were Florida, New York and Washington, D.C., with increases of 1.5 percent, 1.1 percent and 1 percent, respectively.