Quarterly Report
IT'S A BUYER'S MARKET!!
NEW! (April 14, 2011) Spring has Sprung!
Greetings from Newport! It''s April and time for my quarterly report! Every three months, after the end of each quarter, I prepare and send out a report on what''s happening in and around the Newport area in real estate. If you''d like more detailed information, please just ask!
As of today (mid-April), there are 1,010 homes on the market in Newport County. That represents about a 18-month inventory of unsold homes, up from 13.5 last quarter. The increase is due to the big increase in inventory in the past few weeks. Today''s median asking price of a single-family home is about $400,000. We remain in a strong buyer''s market today. Inventory is up again, and I expect the inventory to rise more over the next two months as sellers once again put their homes back on the market after the holidays. A six-month inventory is considered to be a balanced market. Anything higher is a buyer''s market; lower is a seller''s market.
There were 139 residential sales in Newport County in the first quarter, about the same as in 2011. The median selling price was $280,000, down about 3% from 2011.
As I have previously reported, the market bottomed in May 2009 and had exibited a trend of gradually increasing home values since then. Starting in the third quarter of 2011 we started seeing a downturn, which continued in the fourth quarter and into last quarter. The median selling price of a home today still slightly higher than at the bottom.
The best buy on the island last year was Grey Craig in Middletown, which sold on April 1, 2011 for $6,200,000! The original asking price was $15,900,000!
The housing affordability index today is still at the highest point that it has been in the last 50 years, so
this is a buying opportunity that cannot be overlooked. Interest rates have dipped again, so buyers with solid credit ratings can get some real bargains in the current market.
All indications are that the market in southern Rhode Island is still recovering, and prices are still slowly increasing. Median selling prices peaked back in 2005, trended downward until March of 2009, and have been moving slowly upward ever since, particularly in Newport County.
Click the link below to review the historical market information for residential properties in the city of Newport.
Fourth Quarter Reports
- Market Perspective Report, City of Newport, 2011 NEW!
- Median Selling Price Graph, Newport County, 2007-2011 NEW!
- Median Selling Price Graph, Southern RI, 2008-2011 NEW!
- Newport County Summary Report NEW!
- Washington County Summary Report ("South County") NEW!
- Bristol County Summary Report NEW!
IS THE MARKET RECOVERING? YES - SLOWLY, BUT YES!
The graph below shows how median selling prices have changed over the last 14 years. The bubble burst in 2006, and home prices declined each year for four years, with the worst year in 2009. Prices started to increase in mid-2009 and 2010 saw about a 3.5% increase over 2009. While it appears that a slight decline has occurred in 2011, the apparent drop is primarily due to three factors: (1) the sale of distressed properties, (2) increased activity by first time buyers who can afford those distressed properties, and (3) increased activity by investors. There are lots of bargains. It's time to buy!!
