The number of homes sold in Rhode Island is up this year. Photo from Flickr.com
By Kim Kalunian, WPRO News
New housing numbers from RE/MAX of New England indicate that Rhode Island’s real estate market could finally be stabilizing.
“It’s starting to get normal and healthy again,” said Karl Martone, a Broker Associate at the Martone Group Re/Max Properties. “At the end of the day we have what appears to be a market that’s neutralizing itself.”
The May market overview shows the number of homes sold was up both month-to-month and year-to-year in Rhode Island, while the inventory was down by roughly 2,000 from 2012.
Martone, a 28-year veteran of the real estate industry, said this levels the playing field for both buyers and sellers.
“You never want too much of anything,” he said. “We need to get that balance.”
Additionally, the number of days homes were on market was down, while the median sale price inched up. Martone said the competition is greater because of the decreased number of homes on the market, but buyers are still hot to buy because of the low rates.
Martone said Rhode Island has been dragging behind the rest of New England for the last couple of years, so it’s a relief to finally see the state regaining its balance again. Although all of New England showed a month-to-month sales increase, Rhode Island showed largest uptick: sales were up 31.3 percent month-over-month and 35.2 percent year-over-year.
“We suffered the consequences… and now we’re back to a normal healthy real estate market that’s trending at a good pace,” he said.
A few years ago, he said, the market “went crazy,” and people were paying “fictitious values” for homes. Now he anticipates the market will remain stable.
“It’s very exciting news,” he said.
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Kim Kalunian
