Home Prices, Sales Down in Rhode Island

The single-family median home price in Rhode Island fell 25.9 percent in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2008, according to a report released Thursday by ""The Warren Group"":http://www.thewarrengroup.com, which provides real estate data for the New England area.
The median home price in the state dropped to $180,000 during the first three months of 2009, down from $243,000 in the first quarter of 2008. The March median home price was $177,200, a 27 percent decline from $242,750 in March 2008, and the steepest decline in median sales prices for the month of March since The Warren Group started tracking the state’s home price change in 1989. The company pointed out that Rhode Island's monthly median home prices have been declining by double-digit percentages since last June.
Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group, commented, ""This was a pretty dismal quarter for Rhode Island home prices. Prices really aren’t showing any signs of leveling off. We don’t think that’s going to happen unless there are some steady sales gains.""
Rhode Island's sales of single-family homes tumbled 12.3 percent during the first quarter to 1,200. During the same period last year, 1,369 homes were sold. The state's March home sales totaled 464 - 11.8 percent lower than the 526 single-family home sales transactions recorded in March 2008.
Condominium sales in Rhode Island also fell sharply in the first quarter. A total of 215 condos sold from January through March, down 31 percent from last year. In March, there were 84 condo sales -- 11.6 percent lower than in March 2008.
The median price for condos sold in the state from January through March retreated 16.3 percent to $180,000, down from $215,000 during the same months last year. The median condo price in March plunged 22.1 percent to $167,500.
According to Warren, ""Perks like the first-time homebuyer tax credit and low interest rates could spur home sales, but those types of incentives aren’t going to help too much if people are worried about their jobs and overall economic conditions.""