News

Now that Rhode Island's new statewide Non-Owner-Occupied Property Tax has taken effect, REALTORS® working with any type of residential property, which can include 2-, 3-, and 4-unit dwellings depending on the municipality,  should be aware that some of these properties may now be subject to the tax.

A common misconception is that the tax only affects luxury single-family homes or vacation properties. In reality, the tax applies more broadly. Any property that is classified as residential by the municipality, is not owner occupied, and has an assessed value of $1 million or more may be subject to the tax unless the owner can document that an exemption applies.

Rhode Island's housing market posted year-over-year gains in closed sales across all residential property types despite ongoing economic uncertainty. Single-family home sales led the way with a 14% increase - the first annual gain in closed transactions this year - while the median sales price climbed to a record monthly high of $550,000, up 5.8% from June 2025.

Reminder: Starting on July 1, 2026, owners of residential dwellings that are assessed at more than $1 million are required to pay a new quarterly state property tax on the portion that is over $1 million unless the owners can document that (1) they live in the property for 183 days or more or (2) rent to tenants during the tax period.

With the 2026 Rhode Island legislative session now complete, RI REALTORS® has released its digital 2026 Legislative Wrap-Up, highlighting the key real estate-related outcomes from the more than 300 proposed bills the Association monitored this year. 

Effective July 1, 2026, Rhode Island's new Survivor Early Lease Termination Act gives certain residential tenants the right to end a lease early without penalty and, in some situations, request that their landlord change the locks. The law is intended to help survivors quickly leave unsafe living situations while providing landlords with clear procedures to follow.

Warwick, R.I. – June 18, 2026 – May sales data from the Rhode Island Association of Realtors marked a reversal of a long-standing trend of single-family home median price gains year-over-year. For the first time since January 2017, last month's median price of $500,000 represented a 2.5% decline from 12 months earlier.

The Rhode Island Association of REALTORS® has released a new accessibility guide to help members better understand common home accessibility features and modifications that can support aging in place and independent living. 

Warwick, R.I. –May 20, 2026 – Rhode Island’s housing market has seen growing inventory and increased sales for the past three months, a typical trend leading into spring. Year-over-year, however, data released by the Rhode Island Association of Realtors show that the Ocean State’s housing issues has shown little overall improvement.

Today, the MLS Board of Directors voted to remove the language in our Rules and Regulations that restricted distribution of Coming Soon listings via IDX, VOW, and third-party websites.

Warwick, R.I. --- April 22, 2026 – First-quarter single-family home sales fell by nearly nine percent year-over-year, and by the end of the quarter, March sales remained 5.3% below the prior year.  The Rhode Island Association of Realtors reported that the Ocean State realized the slowest activity in single-family home sales last month since monthly record-keeping began in 2010.  A 13.5% annual drop in pending sales also foretells a slower market heading into spring.