Rhode Island home prices shattered September records

Out-of-state buyers, particularly from Massachusetts, ramped up the competition.

The median sales price for a single-family home in the city of Providence in September was $384,000, a 13.78% year-over-year increase. Adobe Stock

By Boston.com Staff

October 19, 2023

The median sales price for a single-family home in Rhode Island rose 9.4% year over year in September, but the condo and multifamily markets saw an even bigger jump.

The Rhode Island Association of Realtors reported Wednesday that the median sales price for a condo in the state rose 10.3% year over year, while the multifamily market saw a 12.3% jump.

These were the highest median prices on record for all housing types for the month of September, according to Kerry Park, vice president of communications and strategic initiatives for the association.

Market	Sept. 2022	Sept. 2023	% change
Condo	$344,500	$379,900	10.3%
Single-family	$416,000	$455,000	9.4%
Multifamily	$425,000	$477,500	12.4%

Source: Rhode Island Association of Realtors

“While costs are up, real estate remains one of the best long-term investments,” said Bryant Da Cruz, association president. “In addition to providing a place of shelter and comfort, it’s a great wealth builder. That’s why it’s so important that we find avenues to give everyone access to homeownership.”

While prices went up in Rhode Island, sales saw year-over-year decreases, but the rate of decrease has slowed. Here are the comparisons between September 2021 and September 2022 and September 2022 and September 2023:

Market	Sept. 2021-22 homes sold	Sept. 2022-23 homes sold
Condo	⬇32.23%	⬇14.63%
Single-family	⬇20.23%	⬇15.24%
Multifamily	⬇37.31%	⬇12.27%

Source: Rhode Island Association of Realtors

On another positive note, inventory rose to a two-month supply in September, a change for the better from earlier in the year when it had fallen to 1.2 months.

Out-of-state buyers made up more than a quarter of all residential property sales in September, continuing “to create elevated competition in the market,” according to the report.

“Massachusetts buyers comprised the bulk of out-of-state sales, making up 14.3% of all Rhode Island sales, with most Massachusetts buyers coming from Bristol, Norfolk, Middlesex, and Suffolk counties,” the association said. “Among sales of $1 million or more, 45% of buyers hailed from other states, primarily Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York.