News

The Rhode Island Association of REALTORS® has approved changes to the RIAR Exclusive Buyer Representation Agreement to make it consistent with legal changes to working as a designated client representative for a buyer.  The revised agreement will be sent to forms vendors during the week of April 2, 2024.  Please keep in mind that some vendors take longer than others to update. Here is a summary of key changes...

When a transaction falls apart, what is the deadline for releasing the buyer’s deposit from a brokerage’s escrow account? 

Rhode Island law requires a real estate brokerage that is holding the deposit in an escrow account to release it within 10 days after the brokerage receives a mutual release that has been signed by all parties to the transaction.

Warwick, R.I. – March 19, 2024 – The Rhode Island Association of Realtors reported that February sales of single-family homes experienced the first year-over-year increase in over two years. Despite the 13% uptick in sales from February of last year, which followed a drop in mortgage rates, closing activity remained well below normal.

The National Association of REALTORS® and the real estate profession are facing major challenges in a time of transition. Would you like to affect the policies on issues that affect you and your profession at the national level? Apply to serve on a National Association of REALTORS® Committee in 2025.

In February 2024, several REALTORS® have reported a new twist to real estate scams.  Different lead generation services have sent the contact information for a seller who wants to list his or her property for sale.  How do you know if this seller is the true owner of the property or a scammer who wants to defraud a buyer of hundreds of thousands of dollars?

Do you or your clients manage or have an ownership interest in a corporation, limited liability company or other business entity or plan to form one?  If so, you’ll need to comply with new federal reporting requirements. 

In 2023, the Rhode Island General Assembly approved a new law that would require owners of rental property to register with a new Department of Health registry that was intended to be created by September 1, 2024 subject to funding with a filing deadline of October 1, 2024. Governor McKee has filed legislation as part of his budget to postpone and change the filing requirements.

Warwick, R.I. – February 15, 2024 – The rate of decline in year-over-year home sales that plagued 2023 showed marked improvement in January, falling just 4.3% compared to the double-digit drops in sales activity recorded throughout each month last year.

Warwick, R.I. – January 30, 2024 – Data released today by the Rhode Island Association of Realtors relayed the severity of Rhode Island’s stalled housing market in 2023. The number of single-family homes sold in the state last year plummeted to the lowest level in a dozen years. 7409 homes were sold in 2023, a 22.5% drop from 2022, and a 33% decline from 2019, the year before the market surged due to the pandemic.

Warwick, R.I. – January 22, 2024 – In December, Rhode Island’s median sale price of single-family homes jumped 9.5% from 12 months earlier, more than twice the level of year-over-year appreciation seen at the end of 2022. Last fall’s high interest rates kept sales activity suppressed, while the continued shortfall of inventory kept prices elevated. The Rhode Island Association of Realtors reported a December median sale price of $427,000.