Report: Rhode Island Home Prices See Sharpest Decline in 20 Years

Single-family home prices in Rhode Island continued to deteriorate in September, with the median home price plunging 17 percent to $220,000 from $265,000 a year ago, according to the latest state report from ""The Warren Group"":http://www.thewarrengroup.com. It was the sharpest drop in monthly home prices since The Warren Group began tracking Rhode Island’s housing market in 1989, the company said.
While prices dropped significantly, Rhode Island's single-family home sales slipped by only about 1 percent in September, The Warren Group reported. Home sales fell to 568 from 573 in September 2007. The modest sales decline is in contrast to August when the company said home sales dropped more than 20 percent from 2007. Still, the sales pace in Rhode Island for the month of September was the weakest it’s been in 12 years, the consultancy said.
""The sales picture seemed to improve somewhat compared to prior months this year when monthly sales declined anywhere from 17 to 25 percent,"" said Timothy Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group, a provider of New England real estate data. ""But single-family median home prices have fallen by double-digit percentages for four consecutive months. And mounting job losses and economic woes will surely be a drag on market conditions going forward,"" Warren added, discussing the environment in Rhode Island.
Year-to-date home sales in the state are down 16 percent compared to 2007, The Warren Group said. Its data shows a total of 5,140 homes were sold from January through September, compared to 6,114 sales during the first nine months of last year. The year-to-date median home price retreated 11.1 percent from $270,000 to $240,000, the company said.
Rhode Island condo sales, meanwhile, fell sharply in September and are off by more than 30 percent so far this year, The Warren Group reported. Condo sales tumbled 21.2 percent to 115 from 146 in September 2007. A total of 1,185 condos sold during the first nine months, down 33.2 percent from the 1,775 units that traded during the same period in 2007. The statewide median condo price in September was $197,000 - 14.4 percent lower than last September’s $230,000 median. The year-to-date median condo price is down 4.9 percent to $215,000, The Warren Group's study showed.