By Kevin Shalvey
PBN Staff Writer
WARWICK – Single-family homes sales slipped 4.94 percent last month compared with July 2007 to 731, while the median sales price fell 12.5 percent in the same period to $245,000, according to statistics released today by the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.
But the market “did show some signs of recovery last month,” the group said in its report: Inventory at the end of July was down 1.63 percent to 6,750 houses on the market statewide this year from 6,862 last year; and pending sales (contracts signed but not yet closed) were up 2.53 percent to 1,012 last month from 987 a year earlier.
“Buyers are now realizing that there are exceptional values out there,” RIAR President Robert “Rob” Scaralia, of RE/MAX 1st Choice in Cranston, said in a statement today. “The wait-and-see period appears to be coming to an end.”
In presenting July’s statistics, RIAR pointed out that 26.3 percent of July sales were either foreclosures or short sales. Without those “distressed” sales, the median statewide price would have been 11.8 percent higher, at $274,000, RIAR said.
Condominium sales fell to 113 during July, a 35.06-percent drop from the year-ago 174. Meanwhile, the median price of condos sold fell 1.96 percent to $225,000 last month from $229,500 in July 2007.
Sales of multifamily homes increased 28.7 percent year-over-year to 148. But their median price plummeted 45.74 percent to $140,000. RIAR again pointed out the impact of foreclosures and short sales, which accounted for 70.3 percent of multifamily sales in July.
“There are more options for first-time homebuyers than there have been in years, and interest rates are still low,” said Scaralia. He cited the high availability of multifamily homes and the recently approved $7,500 federal credit for new homebuyers.
The Rhode Island Association of Realtors has nearly 4,000 member Realtors who last year were involved with more than 14,000 transactions totaling more than $4.24 billion. RIAR is one of more than 1,800 local boards and associations comprising the nation’s largest trade association, the National Association of Realtors. For additional information, including town-by-town statistics, visit www.riliving.com.
