Home stock in Rhode Island dwindles to less than one month supply in December
Data from statewide Multiple Listing Service, a subsidiary of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors, show there was less than a one-month supply of homes available for sale at the end of December, far below the six-month supply that typically characterizes a market balanced between supply and demand.
As of Jan. 19, the current housing supply sat at 0.99 months for single-family homes, and there was a 45.6% decrease in condominium inventory throughout the state.
More: Newport County's 2021 real estate market was hot. We asked Realtors what to expect in 2022.
In Newport County in December, the number of sales mostly increased year over year, except for a slight decrease in sales in Jamestown and Newport.
December was the second month this year inventory levels fell below the one-month mark. With only 958 such listings on the market last month, the shortage of housing that has plagued the market in recent years continued to create difficulties for home buyers.
More: Newport County real estate: Yachting Village home that sold for $1.8 million tops listings
The median sales price throughout the state in January was up 15.38% to $375,000, with 1,082 reported sales, a 4.33% drop. Pending sales, however, were up at 1,089, a 1.68% increase.
Sales activity slowed from 2020, falling 4.3%, for single-family homes, however, the number of homes sold last month remained the highest on record for December.
In Jamestown in 2020, 12 homes sold and in 2021, seven homes sold, a 41.67% decrease. In Newport, in 2020, 23 homes sold in December, and in 2021, 20 homes sold in December, a 13.04% decrease.
More: RI luxury homes market dominated by Newport County sales in 2021
Little Compton year-over-year sales saw the biggest increase of 166.7%, with eight homes sold in 2021, and three homes sold in 2020. Middletown saw a 54.55% increase in homes sold. In December 2020, 11 homes sold in Middletown, and in December 2021, 17 homes sold in Middletown.
Portsmouth's home sales increased by 16.67% at the end of last year. In December 2020, 20 homes sold in Portsmouth, and in 2021, 27 homes sold in Portsmouth.
Tiverton saw a slight 16.67% increase year-over-year. In December 2020, 18 homes sold, while in 2021, 21 homes sold.
Because of the supply shortage in 2021, home prices were higher than in previous years, as home buyers competed for homes in a sparse market. The median sales price for single-family homes in December was $375,000, while the median price for condominiums was $309,900, a 24% increase.
The number of closings fell by 12.9 percent. Pending sales however, increased 7.1 percent, an indication that sales could begin to rise in the first quarter of the year.
More: Newport County real estate: Another million-dollar sale in Middletown tops transactions
Through the end of the year, multifamily homes remained a hot commodity, due to factors like rising rents and the ability to have rental income offset the mortgage. At $390,000, the median sales price of multifamily homes in Rhode Island reached the highest monthly price on record, rising above those of both single-family homes and condominiums.
Closed sales of multifamily homes rose 3.8% last month and pending sales — those sales expected to close in January or February — increased 11.1%. Inventory fell from January 2020 by 48%.
Bethany Brunelle-Raja can be reached at bbrunelle@newportri.com 575-644-1223 or @bethanyfreuden1 on Twitter, Insta: bethanyfreudenthal, TikTok: becomingmrsraja, Muckrack: https://muckrack.com/bethany-freudenthal
This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: RI home stock drops to less than a month's supply in December
