Sales statistics released by the Rhode Island Association of Realtors show no surprises in Rhode Island’s housing market as most trends from the last several months continued in March. Sales activity in the single-family home market remained well below that seen 12 months earlier and the median price of homes sold, while still above that of March 2022, showed continued deceleration in the rate of appreciation.

Only 557 single-family homes sold in March, a decrease of 23.7% year-over-year while the number of homes for sale increased 1.9% to 905. Looking back to March 2011, the last time March home sales fell to levels below 557, 5655 single-family homes were listed for sale, a marked difference.

As it does traditionally, Warwick led the state in single-family house sales with 60. That’s a decrease from 88 or a decline of 31.8 percent from March 2022. The median price of a Warwick single family house was $375,000 as compared to $335,000 last March. 

“We don’t have the same conditions for a severe drop in prices that we did in the early 2000s. The job market remains stable and homeowners have equity in their homes. Now there simply isn’t enough supply to meet demand so our biggest problem is affordability. The good news is that we only saw a 2.6% increase in median price since March 2022 whereas last spring, the median sales price was showing double-digit appreciation year-over-year.  So, prices may be starting to stabilize a bit, but we’re not likely to see any significant decline with supply and demand so far out of balance,” said Bryant Da Cruz, president of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.

The Realtor Association reported a median sales price of single-family homes in March of $395,000, up $10,000 from March 2022.

In the condominium market, sales dropped even further, falling 29.1% from the prior year while the number of listings on the market remained unchanged. The median sales price rose 4.9% to $319,950.

Sales of multifamily homes fell 26.7% with only 135 properties on the market statewide.  At $450,000, the median price of multifamily home sales rose 13.4%, the only sector of the residential market that continued to see double digit appreciation.

“While inflation is showing signs of cooling, rents continued to be an outlier and were the most significant contributor to inflation last month. Multifamily homes, always popular with investors, are in even more demand with the allure of the continuous rise in rents,” said Da Cruz.

Pending sales for single-family and multifamily homes and condominiums dropped 25, 39, and 38.3% respectively, foreshadowing a slow start to the spring sales season.

“We’re thankful that some serious housing bills are being heard by the General Assembly this year. Development of new housing stock can’t come soon enough,” commented Da Cruz.