RHODE ISLAND ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, INC. "The Voice of Real Estate in Rhode Island" Press ReleaseContact: Kerry Park |
Realtor Data Shows Tax Credit Improved Housing Market Throughout The YearWarwick, RI, November 10, 2009…Rhode Island Realtors lauded the passage of the homebuyer tax credit extension, citing the success of the current tax credit in pushing the recovery of the housing market. According to Realtor data, sales have been increasing, inventory decreasing and prices stabilizing throughout the year. “The $8000 tax credit was the incentive that buyers needed to enter the market. We’re very optimistic that the newly extended and expanded tax credit just signed into law will encourage further recovery,” said Paul Leys, President of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors. Thousands of eligible home buyers who have not owned a home for three or more years received a tax credit of up to $8000 as part of the economic stimulus package enacted earlier this year. The program was originally scheduled to be in effect until November 30th 2009. Concerned that the end of the tax credit program would halt the recovery of the housing market, Realtors nationwide sent more than half a million letters to Congress lobbying for an extension of the program. It was extended last week until April 30, 2010 and expanded to include up to $6500 in tax credits to eligible buyers who have lived in their current home for at least five consecutive years out of the last eight years. News of the tax credit extension came on the heels of the release of home sales data for the first nine months of the year by the Rhode Island Association of Realtors. Sales statistics for January through September show single family sales up 10.5 percent from the year prior, with median price falling from $242,500 to $197,264. The price drop resulted from more than one-third (36.4 percent) of all sales selling through short sale or foreclosure. The median price of conventional single family home sales - those not selling under duress - was $235,885. The report follows third quarter home sale statistics released recently which show a 21 percent increase in sales and an 8.7 percent drop in price. The rate of price depreciation has dropped significantly since the beginning of the year in concert with a drop in the rate of distressed sales. Multi-family properties also saw a big jump in sales, up 54.8 percent from the year prior, spurred by falling prices resulting from four out of five sales being sold under duress. The median price fell 42.5 percent year to year, down to $84,500 during January through September from $147,000 in 2008. Realtor statistics from recent months indicate that the multi-family market has reached near bottom with sales volume slowing and price declines diminishing from the beginning of this year. Multi-family sales which did not sell through short sale or foreclosure saw a median price of $180,000, more than twice the amount of the distressed sale median price. The condominium market seemed to be the last sector of the housing market to begin recovering from the downturn. Nine-month statistics show sales down 14.5 percent from the year prior and median price down 16.9 percent from $216,000 from January through September, 2008 to $179,450 during the same time period this year. Just over a quarter (26.7 percent) of all sales fell into the distressed category. Non-distressed sales had a median price of $209,000. Third quarter statistics showed condo sales picking up, increasing 4.2 percent from the third quarter of 2008. Buyers interested in finding out more about the newly expanded tax credit program or Realtor sales data can find information on RILiving.com. |
Paul Leys2009 REALTOR® ----------- View Single Family Nine Month Comparison ----------- View Condominium Nine Month Comparison ----------- |
About the Rhode Island Association of REALTORS®The Rhode Island Association of REALTORS®, one of the largest trade organizations in Rhode Island with more than 5,000 members in nearly 1,000 offices, has been serving Rhode Islanders since 1948. Advocating for Rhode Island's property owners, the Rhode Island Association of REALTORS® provides a facility for professional development, research and exchange of information among its members and to the public and government for the purpose of preserving the free enterprise system and the right to own real property. Last year, RI Realtors transacted $6.9 billion in residential real estate sales and $7.1 billion in total sales and rentals including commercial transactions. The Association is one of more than 1,500 boards and associations that comprise the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America's largest trade association, representing over 1.5 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries and who subscribe to a strict Code of Ethics. REALTOR® is a federally registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics. |
