RI Real Estate: 2017 Year End Review

Rhode Island’s housing market continued to gain strength in 2017 according to the latest report from the Rhode Island Association of Realtors and its subsidiary, State-Wide Multiple Listing Service. For the fifth consecutive year, the number of single-family homes sold rose year-over-year, eclipsing previous records. The data reveals that 11,282 single-family homes were sold in the Ocean State last year, up from 11,066 in 2016. The median price of those sales climbed 6.3 percent to $255,000.

Condominium sales saw a significant increase last year, rising 12.4 percent from the prior year. The median sales price of condominiums sold in 2017 rose 7.6 percent to $215,000.

Sales in the multifamily home market rose nearly 15 percent in volume and median price, indicating that housing has regained a reputation as a favorable investment. The 2017 median multifamily home sales price was the highest since 2007 when it reached $255,000. At $209,000, last year’s median price was 132 percent above the low seen during the crux of the housing downturn in 2009 of $90,000.