BOSTON – The median price of a single-family home in Rhode Island fell 25.8 percent last month, making February the fourth consecutive month with a year-over-year drop of more than 20 percent, according to a report this morning from real estate tracker The Warren Group (TWG). That pushed the price of single-family houses sold statewide below last month’s median condominium price.

The median price of a single-family home last month was $184,000, down from $248,000 in February 2008 and the same as the median price in January of this year. The year-to-date median price fell to $184,000, a 24.3 percent decline from $243,000 of the first two months of last year.

The median price of condo sales last month fell to $190,000, a 13.4 percent decline from the $219,500 median price recorded in February 2008. (READ MORE)

“Single-family median home prices have been off by double-digit percentages for nine straight months,” CEO Timothy M. Warren Jr. said in a statement this morning. “These sharp declines are much worse than the price drops Rhode Island experienced during the last housing downturn in the early 90s.”

Single-family home sales in February dropped 14.91 percent statewide, falling to 371 sales from the 436 sales last February. Of those sales, 14 percent were bank-owned, which further drove the median price down, according to TWG.

“Foreclosures are certainly one factor weighing down prices. Prices won’t begin to level off unless there are strong sales gains for several months straight,” Warren said, adding, “Without the bank-owned home sales, the median price would have been $15,000 higher.”

February also was the state’s slowest month for condominium sales in 12 years: Sales fell 32.2 percent year over year, to 61 last month from the 90 condos sold last February.

The largest drop in home sales for the month occurred in Newport County, according to TWG, which reported a 57.89 percent fall in single-family home sales year over year. Kent County, on the other hand, showed the smallest drop in sales, 3.16 percent.

Despite having the fewest sales in the state in February, however, single family homes in Newport County held their price the most, with a median sale price that was $311,500, 12.75 percent below the February 2008 level. The biggest drop was in Bristol County, 29.28 percent, which showed a median sale price of $235,500 for single-family homes.

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.