Home sales, prices rise in December in R.I.

DECEMBER SAW AN UPTICK in single-family home sales of nearly 20 percent, as well as a 4 percent increase in the median price of those homes sold. / COURTESY RHODE ISLAND ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS
DECEMBER SAW AN UPTICK in single-family home sales of nearly 20 percent, as well as a 4 percent increase in the median price of those homes sold. / COURTESY RHODE ISLAND ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS

WARWICK – Sales of single-family homes in Rhode Island rose 18 percent in December from the same period last year, and prices rose as well, to a median price that was 4 percent greater than in December 2013, according to the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.

In December 2014, 792 single-family properties closed, at a median sale price of $207,750. The figure includes sales of distressed properties, such as foreclosures and short sales, although those volumes have decreased as well. In December 2013, the median sale price for single-family homes was $200,000.

Sales of condominiums also rose in December to 147, a volume that increased 27 percent from the previous year. The median sale price dropped, however, to $165,000, a figure that includes distressed sales. In December 2013, the median sale price was $183,250.

Multifamily sales volume also rose in December to 140 properties from 104 in December 2013. The median price fell to $139,000 from $150,000 the prior year.

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Although sales have fluctuated, the general trend points to a recovering housing market, according to the association in its prepared statement.

Foreclosures and short sales fell from 20 percent of total sales in December 2013 to 14 percent of single-family home sales in December 2014. Properties that are under contract, an indication of future sale activity, increased in December for the fifth consecutive month.

In condo sales, distressed sales accounted for 16 percent of total volume in December 2014, compared with 14 percent the previous December. The increase in distressed sales accounts for the median price declines in condos, according to the association.

Foreclosure and short sales accounted for 29 percent of the volume in the investor-driven multifamily market, a decline from 35 percent in December 2013.

At the worst point in the market, distressed sales accounted for 80 percent of the multifamily transactions, according to the association.

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