WARWICK – The median price of single-family homes for sale in Rhode Island continued to rise in February, rising 4.4% year over year, while sales fell for the 12th straight month, the Rhode Island Association of Realtors said Friday.
The median sales price rose to $384,000 in February, while the number of homes sold fell 29.4% year-over-year to 392.
The association said 864 single-family homes were listed in February. The supply of homes for sale last month was 9.5% higher than 12 months ago.
“Our median sales price continues to increase in large part due to the fact that there are more move-in homes than starter homes on the market,” said Bryant Da Cruz, president of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors, in a statement. “Prospective buyers trying to break into the market for the first time face an uphill battle, with fewer choices and higher interest rates than we’ve seen in several years. That said, interest rates are still more than seven percent below the 50-year average, and homeowner equity is holding on to their properties.”
Condo sales fell 43.5% to 83 in February, while multifamily sales fell 52.7% to 71 in the same period. The median sales price for a condominium increased 1% to $308,000, while the sales price for multifamily homes increased 9.8% to $450,000.
“Given that housing is such an important economic driver, we’ll be watching carefully what happens with interest rates following the recent bank closures as we head into what is typically our busiest time of year,” Da Cruz said. “Many economists are now predicting a lower-than-expected rate hike when the Federal Reserve meets next week. A softening of rising mortgage rates is always good news for the housing market.”
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