Home Buying

In R.I., the median sales price for a home has jumped nearly 67% since 2019

That's for a single-family property. The cost of a condo is down slightly, but sales in all markets are starting to climb out of their pandemic stupor.

No sector saw a bigger increase in the median sales price year over year in 2024 than Rhode Island's multifamily market. Adobe Stock

By Claudie Bellanger

February 14, 2025

2 minutes to read

Sales in the Rhode Island housing market rose last year for the first time since 2020, the Rhode Island Association of Realtors reported Thursday.

The number of sales, 7,681 single-family homes alone, reflects a 3.3 percent increase from 2023. The market still has not reached its prepandemic levels. For comparison, 11,013 single-family homes sold in 2019. The association says the market has been “stunted by rising prices.”

Since 2019, the median sales price for a single-family home has climbed 66.7 percent. It rose 11.8 percent from 2023 to 2024 to $475,000.

“The pandemic put Rhode Island on the map at a time our state was already short on housing supply,” Chris Whitten, association president, said in a press release. “With the ability to work remotely, we’ve seen thousands moving into the Ocean State.”

In 2024, about 1 in 4 residential sales were to out-of-state buyers, and for homes over $1 million, 42 percent were from out of state, the association reported.

Sales rose in all counties. Newport County had the largest jump year over year in single-family home sales: 12 percent. The county is home to popular waterfront towns like Newport, Portsmouth, and Little Compton.

Bristol County — Barrington, Bristol, and Warren — was the only one to see a decrease in prices. They fell 2.97 percent year over year.

The multifamily home market drew in eager buyers seeking a way to become a homeowner and pay the mortgage. Sales were up 3.2 percent, and this market saw the largest annual price increase of all residential housing types in the state, rising 15.1 percent to $541,000.

The condominium market saw the only decrease in price. It dropped only slightly, from $357,000 in 2023 to $355,000 in 2024. Despite the decline, the market experienced a 7 percent increase in sales.

“It’s clear our housing market remains extremely out of balance, and the cost of owning a home here in Rhode Island has reached unprecedented heights,” Witten said. “Obviously, we need to get more shovels in the ground to sensibly increase our supply, but just as important, the full ramifications of proposed laws on our housing market must be understood. While many bills are well intended, the effect of decreased home affordability from added fees, taxes, and mandates can add up to thousands in a typical transaction. Sadly, the outcome of many of these bills are making the process more difficult to obtain the American Dream and detrimental to fixing our home affordability crisis.”

Rising home prices are frustrating for buyers and a boon for sellers and the local economy. Based on third-quarter data from the association, each home sale in the state put $148,000 back into the economy. The state’s real estate industry was responsible for $14.9 billion, or nearly 19 percent, of the gross state product.

“In addition to the enormous personal toll a lack of housing takes on our citizens, it doesn’t make sense to do anything that makes the process harder and creates less affordability for one of the state’s biggest economic drivers,” said Whitten.