News

Beginning January 1, 2027, landlords renting shoreline property must provide tenants with written information about public shoreline access before the lease begins. The disclosure explains that members of the public may exercise their shoreline rights on wet sand, dry sand or rocky beaches up to 10 feet landward of the recognizable high tide line, subject to applicable legal restrictions.

Beginning June 1, 2027, Rhode Island residential real estate transactions will be subject to new radon testing and mitigation requirements. To help REALTORS® understand these changes, RIAR has developed a printable Radon Testing and Mitigation Flip Book. Although the law does not take effect until next year, REALTORS® should begin to familiarize themselves with the changes now to help buyers and sellers prepare for the potential impact on their transactions.

The Rhode Island Association of REALTORS® Executive Committee has approved changes to RIAR Purchase and Sales Agreements after reviewing input from the Broker Council and RIAR Board of Directors. The changes will be sent to authorized forms vendors in November 2026. Please keep in mind that forms vendors post updates at different times. Click here to review the new form.

Warwick, R.I. – October 19, 2026 – Rhode Island single-family home sales saw an annual drop of 11.7% in September and a 14.8% decrease in contracts signed but not sold by the end of month. According to data recently released by the Rhode Island Association of Realtors, the median price rose .75% to $534,000.

Have you ever noticed that a property can show a different number of Days on Market (DOM) on the MLS compared with another real estate website? This is not necessarily an error. Different websites may use different methods to calculate and display listing time.

The MLS calculation may not be the same as a consumer website’s calculation. 

Rhode Island residential home sale trends continued in August with slower sales and rising median prices year-over-year in all sectors of the market.

Some buyers come across properties being sold by a wholesaler rather than directly by the owner. In these situations, you may be purchasing a property through what is often called a wholesale deal or an assignment of contract. This means you may be taking over someone else’s contract to buy the property.

Warwick, R.I. – August 20, 2026 – Today, the Rhode Island Association of Realtors reported that the median price of single-family home sales in the Ocean State continued to increase year-over-year last month, rising to $525,000 from $505,000 in July 2025. Rising prices and recent mortgage rate increases prompted fewer sales than the prior year, helping to increase the number of homes on the market.

Josh McGinn of has been named Director of Professional Development at the Rhode Island Association of Realtors (RI REALTORS). He will oversee the development and delivery of educational programming for the 6,000-member trade association.

RI REALTORS® has been made aware of a fraudulent email currently being sent to some members claiming that their membership payment is past due. The email may appear to come from RIAR or State-Wide MLS and includes language requesting that recipients reply to receive payment instructions. This message is not legitimate and was not sent by RIAR or State-Wide MLS.