FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Editorial Contact:
Aglaia Pikounis
The Warren Group
(617) 896-5370
apikounis@thewarrengroup.com
Rhode Island Home Sales Sink 13 Percent in 2008;
Median Price Hits Five-Year Low
Condo Sales Plunge 34 Percent Last Year
BOSTON, Jan. 29, 2009 – Sales and prices of single-family homes dropped 13 percent in 2008, marking the second consecutive month with both sales and price declines, according to the latest report from The Warren Group.
A total of 6,761 single-family homes were sold in 2008, down 13.4 percent from 7,811 in 2007. It was the lowest sales volume since 1995, when 6,731 sales transactions were recorded, according to The Warren Group. In December, single-family home sales fell 5.8 percent to 505 from 536 in December 2007.
“Last year was the third consecutive year that single-family home sales fell by double-digit percentages in Rhode Island. It’s also the second year that home prices declined. But last year’s price drop is the steepest since The Warren Group started tracking the state’s housing market back in 1989,” said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group, a publishing and real estate tracking firm.
The median price for a single-family home dipped 13.2 percent to $230,000 from $265,000. Last year’s median home price was the lowest it’s been since 2003 and $43,000 lower than 2005, when prices hit a peak. In December, the median home price tumbled 20.8 percent to $190,000 from $240,000 in December 2007.
“December’s median home price was the lowest it’s been for the month in seven years. In fact, the median home price was even lower than the median condo price during the month of December,” said Warren. “Home price declines will not level off until sales start to climb for several consecutive months.”
Meanwhile, statewide condominium sales dropped to a 10-year low. A total of 1,502 condos were sold in 2008, a 34.3 percent drop from 2,285 in 2007. It was the fewest number of condos sold since 1998, when 1,471 condos were traded. During December, condos sales plummeted 38.1 percent to 96 from 155 in December 2007.
Condo prices, however, didn’t fall as sharply as single-family home prices. The median condo price slipped 6.8 percent to $210,263 in 2008 from $225,500 in 2007. In December, the median condo price was $199,900, or 18.4 percent lower than the $245,000 median price recorded in December 2007.
About The Warren Group
The Warren Group, based in Boston, is the publisher of Banker & Tradesman, The Commercial Record and a series of association publications. As the premier provider of real estate data in New England, The Warren Group offers a range of real estate products and services for professionals and consumers searching for real estate and financial information. For more information about The Warren Group, please visit www.thewarrengroup.com or call 617-428-5100.
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