Realtors release Q3 Home Sales Data
Warwick, R.I. – November 4, 2022- A year ago, Rhode Island’s housing market began to wane amid news of rising mortgage rates and continued low inventory. One year later, sales are still declining, while the median price of homes continues to rise year-over-year. However, third-quarter home sales data recently released by the Rhode Island Association of Realtors shows sales activity has declined significantly, while appreciation in the median sales price of homes sold has weakened, the median price itself remains above that of the third quarter of last year.
RI Realtors reported that the number of single-family homes sold in Rhode Island from July through September dropped 15.2% from Q3 2022. The median price of those sales rose to $410,000, up from $385,000, a 6.5% increase. Annual appreciation in median price had grown by double-digit percentages in the first half of the year but has fallen markedly since.
“Inflation and rising rates have been a game changer for the housing market. Fortunately, Rhode Island’s economic indicators are stable and unemployment is below the national average so we don’t expect a drastic drop in prices. The low supply of homes should insulate prices from falling significantly, if at all, in the near future.” said Agueda Del Borgo, 2022 President of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.
Given the recent hike in mortgage rates, homeowners have been reluctant to give up their current low interest mortgages, enhancing the scarcity of homes for sale.
Increasing demand from out-of-state buyers has also worsened the inventory shortfall. Buyers from outside of Rhode Island, mainly Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York, accounted for 26.3% of all sales, up from 24.8% last year. In the luxury market of homes sold for $1 million, 50.5% involved out-of-state buyers, up from 50.2% in Q3 2021. Ninety percent of those buyers bought in the coastal counties of Newport, Washington and Bristol counties.
While sales activity in the multifamily home market dropped off by 27.8% from 12 months earlier, the median sales price escalated 14.7% to $430,000. Investors have pushed prices higher to capitalize on rising rents, with the highest prices realized in Newport County.
Condominium sales fell 22.9% from Q3 2021 and the median sales price rose to $320,000, a 17.7% year-over-year increase.
Months Supply: Click here for interactive display
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.