Warwick, R.I. -- May 4, 2023 – Affordability limits continued to hamper Rhode Island home sales in the first quarter. Closed transactions of single-family homes fell 32% from 12 months prior while the Q1 median sales price rose 4% year-over-year to $390,000. 

The condominium market saw similar trends. Closed transactions fell by 38.8% and the median sales price increased 6.3% to $319,900.

Though the number of multiple bids well over asking price have diminished, sales prices averaged 100% of list price.

The multifamily home market also saw a drop in sales with a decrease of 38.3%, as well as an 11.4% hike in the median sales price. The median price of multifamily home sales in the first quarter was $445,500, the highest of the three residential home types.

“While multifamily homes have always been attractive to investors, with today’s high rental prices they have become an extremely hot commodity. At the beginning of May, there were only 145 multifamily homes on the market in the entire state. With inventory this low, we won’t see much relief in price,” commented Bryant Da Cruz, President of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.

Out-of-state buyers accounted for 23.7% of residential home sales in the first quarter, up from 22.4% of all sales in the first quarter of last year. The top five states sending buyers to Rhode Island were Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Florida and California. Buyers from Massachusetts alone accounted for 14.1% of sales from outside of Rhode Island.

“Though Rhode Island home prices are higher than they’ve ever been, they’re still a bargain compared to states like Massachusetts, where the median sales price of single-family homes sold in the first quarter was $535,000, far above Rhode Island’s median price of $390,000. Also, with easy access from coastal Rhode Island to Boston, it’s easy to see why people are attracted to the Ocean State,” said Da Cruz.

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