It's getting harder to find a home to buy in Newport County and more expensive. Here's why.

Sales of single-family homes across Newport County continue to decline as the number of homes available for sale remains low.

According to the Rhode Island Association of Realtors, there were 65 single-family homes sold across the county during the month of March. That number is down from the 95 homes sold in March 2021.

The only municipality to see an increase in home sales from a year ago was Jamestown, where seven homes sold compared to five in 2021.

While the number of sales was down nearly across the board, the median sale increased in every community except for Jamestown, where it decreased 12.6% to $830,000 from $950,000.

The largest increase occurred in Middletown, with the median sale price rising 40% from $510,750 in March 2021 to $699,500 in March 2022. In Tiverton, the median sale price rose 32% from $306,000 to $405,000. Little Compton's median sale price rose 13% from $675,000 to $762,500; Portsmouth's increased 4% from $612,500 to $638,750 and Newport's increased 0.7% from $818,500 to $824,500.

Numbers from the association also indicate inventory is so low across Newport County it would take less than a month to sell all available homes in every community except Portsmouth, where the supply is closer to two months.

The Newport County trend follows what is happening statewide, according to the association, where in March, Rhode Island’s supply of single-family homes for sale continued to fall from a year earlier, causing prices to continue their double-digit ascent.

According to the association, the supply of homes for sale in March was 26% less than 12 months earlier and 62% less than it was in March of 2020.

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Last month, single-family home closing activity fell 10.2% from 12 months earlier. Pending sales — those under contract but not closed by the end of the month — also fell 9.9%, foretelling a continued slowdown in sales activity in the weeks to come.

At $385,000, the median price of homes sold in March was 14.9% higher than 12 months earlier.

“While we did see a slight gain in the number of homes available for sale from February to March, unfortunately the supply remains critically low and the number of homes for sale has been falling year-over-year for some time. Since March of 2020 to last month, Rhode Island’s single-family home inventory fell from 2328 listings to 888. And though the housing shortage was exacerbated by COVID, it had existed for several years before that.

“It’s critically important that Rhode Island puts measures in place that allow for the construction of more housing, free from the barriers that impede development now. We need places for our workforce to live,” said Agueda Del Borgo, president of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors, said in a statement.

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The condominium sector saw more damaging trends last month with listings falling 48.5% from March 2021, sales dropping 19% and the median sales price rising 22% to $305,000.

Inventory dropped the most on the multifamily home front, falling 48.6% from March of 2021. Sales fell by 16.7% and median price rose 16.8% to $397,000.

“While the multifamily home market was a great avenue for first-time homeowners in the past, investors are making it extremely difficult to compete for these properties. Investors often offer cash or better financial terms, and the rising prices and interest rates are knocking potential buyers out of the running,” said Del Borgo.

This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Newport County RI home sales continue to decline as sale prices rise