The real-estate market continued to recover in Rhode Island throughout the second quarter of this year, and the median house price reached $209,900, up 10 percent compared with April, May and June 2012.
The number of houses sold increased by 15 percent in the second quarter, according to statistics released Tuesday by the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.
In the first six months of 2013, 3,968 houses were sold in Rhode Island. Of those sales, 881, or about 22 percent, were distressed, meaning they were foreclosures or short sales.
During the same period in 2012, nearly 30 percent of the house sales — 1,083 of 3,636 — were distressed, according to association statistics.
“The supply of homes for sale has dropped, eliminating the excess of homes for sale, particularly those sold through foreclosure and short sale,” association president Victoria Doran said. “Sellers need to understand, however, that the decrease in distressed sales is what is elevating the median price. Homes sold through conventional means still need to be reasonably priced.”
Rhode Island’s median house price peaked at a high of $282,500 in 2006, but fell to $199,900 in 2009 and dropped to $190,000 in 2012. But the association said that Rhode Island’s real-estate market “has been gaining strength since January.”
The condominium market also had a strong second quarter, with a 19-percent jump in the median sales price, to $202,750, and a 28-percent increase in sales volume; 18 percent of the 474 condo sales were distressed.
The multifamily market, the segment most affected by foreclosures and short sales, also continued to rally in the second quarter. The median price increased by 5 percent, to $126,000, and the sales volume increased by 2 percent. The association said that the “bulk of the multifamily market … changed hands in prior years as investors snapped up distressed sales.” In the second quarter, 38 percent of the 347 multifamily sales were distressed.