Single-family home sales fell annually in Rhode Island for the fifth month this year in August, dropping by double digits even as selling prices came down, the Warren Group [1] reported.
The company's data [2] shows 748 single-family homes sold in August, down 10.1 percent from 832 a year ago. It was the first time since 2010 that home sales in the state fell in the month of August.
Year-to-date, home sales statewide totaled 4,907 as of August 31, a drop of 3.0 percent from last year.
Condominium sales also tumbled, plunging 32.4 percent—the largest decrease since December 2010—to 117.
"It is discouraging to see sales decline by double-digits in August after July posted a modest increase," said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of the Warren Group. "The Rhode Island market is slowed down in August, with both condos and single-family homes posting low sales numbers and the median selling price of both falling."
The median selling price of single-family homes fell 5.3 percent in August to $220,000, according to the Warren Group, marking the fourth time median prices have declined year-over-year in 2014. Year-to-date, the median single-family home price was up 1.4 percent.
On the condo side, the median selling price in August was $170,000, an increase of 12.0 percent over last year.