BOSTON – Total sales of Rhode Island single-family homes and condominiums plunged to their lowest November levels in more than a decade, while their prices also fell sharply compared with a year ago, The Warren Group reported today.

Single-family home sales in Rhode Island were 21.12 percent lower in November than a year earlier while their median price fell 19.61 percent, the Boston-based publisher found. The plunge in prices, eclipsing September’s year-over-year decline of 17 percent (READ MORE), was the sharpest since the company began tracking the state’s real estate market in 1989.

Statewide, 452 houses were sold during the month – the slowest November pace since 1996 down from 573 a year ago. The decline was a stark contrast to the 11-percent year-over-year gain in October, when 653 houses were sold across the Ocean State. (READ MORE)

The median price of single-family homes sold statewide in November fell to $205,000 from $211,000 the month before and $255,000 in November 2007.

“November is the sixth consecutive month that median home prices in Rhode Island have been off by double-digit percentages,” said Timothy Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group.

“Homeowners are being pushed to lower asking prices as buyers – shaken by stock market woes and unemployment growth – hold back on making major purchases,” Warren added. “Home prices won’t recover until consumer confidence picks up and sales climb for several months.”

Sales of residential condominiums in the state fell even more sharply, to 41.44 percent below their year-ago level, while their median price fell 12.8 percent, The Warren Group found. One hundred and six units were sold in November, down from 181 in the same month a year ago, The Warren Group found. Their median price tumbled to $188,350 from $216,000 a year earlier.

The state’s year-to-date declines in sales and prices were less steep, however, for both houses and condominiums.

Single-family home sales in the first 11 months of the year fell 14.2 percent to 6,242 from 7,275 houses sold in the same period of 2007. Their median price fell 12.43 percent to $234,350 from the year-ago $267,600.

Condo sales in the January-through-November period fell 33.99 percent to 1,406 from the 2,130 units sold in the year-ago period. Their median price fell 6.04 percent to $211,421 from the year-ago $225,000.

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.