BOSTON – Single-family home sales across Rhode Island in the first half of 2008 fell 18.09 percent compared with the year-ago period, according to statistics released today by The Warren Group, a Boston-based real estate tracker.

Statewide, 3,283 homes were sold in January through June, compared with 4,008 in the same period last year. June sales were also down year-over-year, with 744 single-family homes sold last month statewide, a 14.78-percent decline from the 873 sold in June 2007.

That drop in sales volume has been accompanied by a decline in median sales price. The median price of houses sold across the state in the first six months of the year fell 10.78 percent to $240,000 from $269,000 for homes sold in the year-ago period. The median sales price last month – $240,000 – represented a 13.82-percent drop compared with the price in June 2007.

Condominium sales also fell statewide. First-half sales fell 35.11 percent to 780 closings in the first six months of this year. June sales fell to 24.57 percent compared with a year ago, to 175 last month.

The median price for Ocean State condo sales fell only 2.51 percent for the first half of 2008, to $220,000. The June median price fell more sharply, dropping 6.81 percent year-over-year to $212,000.

The results are similar to those in a report earlier today by the Rhode Island Association of Realtors. (READ MORE).

The Warren Group Inc. is a provider of New England real estate data and the publisher of Banker & Tradesman and other journals. Additional information is available at www.TheWarrenGroup.com.