RI’s Third Quarter Home Sales Up 9.1% Over 2019, “Strongest Sellers’ Market” Ever
Wednesday, October 28, 2020
Rhode Island’s single-family home sales were up 9.1%year-over-year and the median price of those sales hit $334,900, 13.5% higher than that of the third quarter of 2019, according to the RI Realtors.
On average, homes remained on the market for just 52 days, down from 58 days in the prior year.
The price spike has hit the wealthiest and poorest commiunities.
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Block Island lead the list of median prices at $1,262,500, followed by Little Compton and Newport. Every town in Newport County, and 22 other municipalities throughout the state, saw double-digit price gains compared to July through September of 2019.
"I don’t think I’ve ever seen a stronger sellers’ market going into the end of the year. For those thinking of listing their property for sale, there’s definitely no need to wait for spring. The market hasn’t slowed down," said Shannon Buss, President of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.
In the condominium market, sales increased by 4.3% and the median price grew by 6.4% to $255,000. As opposed to the trend seen in the single-family market, condos remained on the market 8.5% longer than seen from July through September of last year.
Multifamily homes sales activity slowed by 9.2% while the median price of those properties rose by 12.7% to $310,000. The days a multifamily home stayed on the market remained relatively stable from year to year, rising 2.3% to 45 days.
Out of State Buyers Make an Impact on R.I.’s Housing Market
Realtors also released a cumulative analysis of second and third quarter property purchases by out of state buyers to help gauge the pandemic’s impact on migration to the Ocean State. Despite a 12% drop in total Rhode Island residential property sales during that time period, Rhode Island saw an increase in purchases from out of state buyers of 9.7%.
Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and Florida followed typical trends of supplying the most buyers to the Ocean State and three out of four of those states, sent markedly more buyers to Rhode Island since the onset of the pandemic.
From April through September, Massachusetts buyers who purchased a Rhode Island property increased 15.8% year-over-year, New York buyers grew by 30.6%, and Florida buyers increased 33.8%. The only decrease was seen by Connecticut buyers who numbered 167 this year, compared to 221 from April through September last year.
“The shutdown last spring curtailed what would likely have been another record-breaking year for Rhode Island home sales but the silver lining was a boost from those people from out of state who made the decision to buy in Rhode Island. If you’re going to work remotely, this is a great place to do it,” said Buss.
