Continued slowdown of R.I.'s 2022 housing market in Q4
Warwick, R.I. – Feb. 1, 2023 – Home sales data recently released by the Rhode Island Association of Realtors relay a Q4 2022 median single-family home sales price of $400,000 which represented a 6.7% year-over-year gain, while the number of closed sales fell 32.7%. 2094 homes sold in the last three months of 2022 compared to 3113 in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The Q4 median price of multifamily homes sold from October through December rose 9.9% to $423,000 from $385,000 12 months prior. Sales activity fell 44.6%.
Among condominium sales, the median sales price rose to $329,900 last quarter from $285,000 in the fourth quarter of 2021, a 15.8% gain. Closed sales fell by 32.7%.
“While homeowners still saw positive gains in median sales price toward the end of the year, the rate of appreciation definitely fell from what we saw in the first half of the year. Given the affordability issues exacerbated by rising interest rates, sellers have had to adjust their expectations,” said Bryant Da Cruz, president of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.
2022, a pivotal year
2022 overall saw a 17.3% decrease in single-family home sales compared to 2021 and a 10.1% gain in the median price. At $401,926, last year’s median price was the first time Rhode Island’s annual median price topped $400,000.
Multifamily home sales declined 24.4% year-over-year while the median sales price reached $420,000, a 15.1% gain. The multifamily home market has been particularly attractive to financially well-qualified and cash investors, helping to put this sector of the market out of reach for many first-time home buyers.
Condominium sales, another sector traditionally popular with first-time buyers due to generally lower price points, decreased 20.9% year-over-year. The median price of condos sold in 2022 rose 16.3% to $319,900.
“Last year was a pivotal year for the housing market as rising interest rates wreaked havoc on home affordability. In addition to that, rising inflation and a potential impending recession kept sellers in their current homes and buyers left with limited choices. The stars aligned to keep inventory low and housing costs high,” said Da Cruz.
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. Those numbers dropped 12.7% and 12.4% respectively, from 2021. The data is pulled from transactions recorded in State-Wide Multiple Listing Service, the listing information exchange system, owned and operated by the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.
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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.