Report: Greenville healthiest housing market in R.I.

THE GREENVILLE section of Smithfield has the healthiest housing market in Rhode Island, according to a study by SmartAsset. / COURTESY SMARTASSET
THE GREENVILLE section of Smithfield has the healthiest housing market in Rhode Island, according to a study by SmartAsset. / COURTESY SMARTASSET

PROVIDENCE – Greenville has the healthiest housing market in Rhode Island, according to SmartAsset’s second annual Healthiest Housing Markets Study released last week.
Greenville, a village in Smithfield, ranked in the top 10 in the state in each of the four healthy-housing indicators that were examined by the financial technology company, including first in stability, second in affordability, third in ease of sale and eighth in risk of loss.
Stability was based on the average number of years a person remains in their home and the percentage of homeowners that have negative equity, as they are more likely to go into foreclosure; risk was based on the percentage of homes that decreased in value; ease of sale was based on the average number of days a home spends on the market; and affordability was based on the monthly cost of homeownership as a percentage of median household income. Affordability accounted for 40 percent of the housing health index, while the three remaining indicators each accounted for 20 percent.
In Greenville, the study found residents spend an average of 19 years living in their home; 12.5 percent of homeowners have negative equity; 36.8 percent of homes decreased in value; homes spend an average of 111.4 days on the market; and the monthly cost of owning a home represents 23.4 percent of household income.
In Rhode Island, the study found a person spends an average of 16.1 years living in their home; 12.3 percent of homeowners have negative equity; 22.9 percent of homes decreased in value; homes spend an average of 144.4 days on the market; and the monthly cost of owning a home represents 24.3 percent of household income.
Rounding out the state’s top 10 healthiest housing markets are Westerly, Cranston, Newport, Warwick, Pawtucket, Tiverton, Woonsocket, Providence and Kingston, a village in South Kingstown. Greenville and Westerly ranked in the top 1,000 nationally at No. 903 and No. 1,000, respectively.
In Massachusetts, the study found a person spends an average of 15.7 years living in their home; 8 percent of homeowners have negative equity; 24.4 percent of homes decreased in value; homes spend an average of 177.1 days on the market; and the monthly cost of owning a home represents 24.6 percent of household income.
The top 10 healthiest housing markets in Massachusetts are Needham, Hingham, Stoneham, Dedham, Bridgewater, Northborough, Malden, Peabody, Danvers and Saugus. Needham ranked in the top 100 nationally at No. 64.

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