R.I. homes sales, prices fall in August compared with 2013

SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES SALES fell in August compared with a year earlier, as the median price paid for a home did the same. / COURTESY RHODE ISLAND ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS
SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES SALES fell in August compared with a year earlier, as the median price paid for a home did the same. / COURTESY RHODE ISLAND ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS

WARWICK – Rhode Island single-family home sales fell 8 percent in August compared with the same period last year, the Rhode Island Association of Realtors said Thursday.
The median price of those sales fell 3 percent to $218,000 from the $225,000 median in August 2013.
There were 851 houses sold in August, a drop from 926 last year.
“We’re closer to a normal market than we have been in years,” said Realtors association President Robert Martin. “There’s a good balance between supply and demand. We’ll see some ebbs and flows from month to month, but foreclosures and short sales continue to be pushed out of the market, which helps to drive prices upward over the long term.”
Some of the drop in sales volume can be attributed to declining distressed sales, which fell 29 percent compared with August 2013. That the median price declined compared with a period with that many more short sales and foreclosures is more surprising.
In other areas of the market, multifamily building sales fell 9 percent year over year in August. There were 102 apartment buildings sold in last month compared with 112 in August 2013.
The median multifamily sale price, however, climbed 25 percent last month to $169,000 from $135,500 last year.
Condominium sales fell 24 percent year over year last month, with 144 sold in August compared with 189 last August.
The median condominium sale price fell 3 percent last month to $192,000 from $199,000 last August.

No posts to display