Single-family home sales increased nearly 10% in 2015

SINGLE-FAMILY HOME SALES in Rhode Island grew 8.6 percent in October, the Rhode Island Association of Realtors said.
SINGLE-FAMILY HOME SALES in Rhode Island grew 8.6 percent in October, the Rhode Island Association of Realtors said.

WARWICK – The state’s housing market rebounded in 2015 to its largest volume of single-family sales in a decade, according to statistics released Wednesday by the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.

Sales increased by nearly 10 percent, to 9,782 homes. The median sale price rose as well, by nearly 5 percent to $225,000, according to the association, which tracks sales in Realtor-involved transactions.

The typical waiting period to sell a home also decreased. The average days on market shrank 8 percent, to 80 days in 2015.

The market is characterized by a steady supply of houses and increasing activity, although not at the frenzied pace seen in the mid-2000s, when Rhode Island had double-digit appreciation, according to Art Yasko, state president of the association.

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In 2015, appreciation rose most dramatically in Jamestown, where the median sale price increased by 36 percent in 2015, to $585,000. Johnston also had dramatic appreciation, with single-family median prices rising 18 percent, to $192,000. Glocester, Hopkinton and Coventry all had double-digit growth in median prices.

Across the different classes of residential real estate, 2015 was a good year.

Condominium sales involving Realtors rose by 5.62 percent, to 1,654 sales, according to the association. Median sale prices increased by 3.5 percent, to $200,000.

Multi-family sales climbed nearly 15 percent, with 1,528 closings last year. The median price rose another 15 percent, to $168,000.

The cross-market rise in property value was partly attributed by Yasko to a steady decline in volume of distressed property sales. Foreclosure and short sales decreased across all property types, according to the association.

In a statement, Yasko described the most recent year in real estate as a period of “cautious growth.”

“We’re seeing more moderate, steady gains,” he said. “Last year was a ‘win-win’ for just about everyone. Sellers benefited from more activity and increased prices. Buyers on the other hand were able to tap into continued low interest rates and unlike most other areas of the country, a decent supply of homes to choose from.”

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