R.I. home, condo prices rise in October

By Patrick Anderson
PBN Staff Writer
Twitter: @andersonpbn

WARWICK – Rhode Island single-family home prices rose 10 percent in October compared with the same period in 2011, the first monthly price increase since May, 2011, the Rhode Island Association of Realtors said Thursday.

The median single-family sales price in October was $200,000, up from $182,250 last October.

Driving the price increase were rising sales, which jumped up 24 percent compared with October 2011, the 16th consecutive monthly increase. There were 679 single-family houses sold last month and 548 last October.

"Sales activity has been increasing for such a long time that prices were bound to go up eventually,” said newly installed Rhode Island Realtors Association President Victoria Dolan. “As the supply of excess housing inventory depletes, prices will adjust accordingly.”

The percentage of houses sold through short sale or foreclosure dropped to 21 percent in October compared with 25 percent in October 2011.

In other areas of the market, Rhode Island condominium sales rose 37 percent year over year in October, with 124 units sold compared with 91 last October.

The median condominium sale price rose 21 percent in October to $170,000, up from $141,000 last October.

Sales of multifamily homes rose 15 percent in October compared with the same time last year. There were 124 multifamily properties sold last month compared with 108 during the same time in 2011.

The median multifamily sale price jumped 20 percent to $120,400, up from $100,000 last October.