R.I. home prices fell 7.8% in February

By PBN Staff
Twitter: @ProvBusNews

SANTA ANA, Calif. – Single-family home prices in Rhode Island fell 7.8 percent in February compared with the same period in 2011, CoreLogic said Wednesday.

Nationally, Rhode Island had the third greatest depreciation during 2011 behind Delaware and Connecticut, where prices fell 11.2 percent and 7.9 percent, respectively.

Excluding distressed sales, Rhode Island prices declined 2 percent year-over-year in February, as measured by the real estate tracking firm’s Home Price Index.

Prices in the Providence-New Bedford-Fall River metropolitan area fell 5.8 percent in February compared with the same period in 2011, according to the California firm.

Excluding distressed sales, year-over-year prices in February declined 3.2 percent in the metro area.

Price declines in the Providence area were higher those in the national market, which saw prices decline 0.8 percent on the CoreLogic price index. The Providence area includes all of Rhode Island, except Newport County, plus Bristol County, Mass.

Statewide, Massachusetts home prices fell 3.6 percent year-over-year in February. Excluding distressed sales, Massachusetts home prices rose 0.3 percent year-over-year in February.

“House prices, based on data through February, continue to decline, but at a decreasing rate. The deceleration in the pace of decline is a first step toward ultimately growing again,” Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic, said in prepared remarks.

“Excluding distressed sales, we already see modest price appreciation month over month in January and February,” he said.