A 5.8 percent decrease in December home sales capped off a 2008 that saw Rhode Island home sales and prices both drop more than 13 percent, according to The Warren Group’s year-end report for the state.
There were 505 homes sold in December, down 5.8 percent from 536 homes sold in December 2007.
There were 6,761 homes sold in 2008, down 13.4 percent from 7,811 in 2007. Sales volume hasn’t been this low since 1995 when 6,731 homes were sold.

The Warren Group CEO Timothy M. Warren Jr. said, “Last year was the third consecutive year that single-family home sales fell by double-digit percentages in Rhode Island. It’s also the second year that home prices declined. But last year’s price drop is the steepest since The Warren Group started tracking the state’s housing market back in 1989.”
December median sales price dropped 20.8 percent to $190,000 from $240,000 in December 2007.
The median sales price for single-family homes in 2008 dropped 13.2 percent to $230,000 from $265,000. Prices are now are their 2003 levels, and the median is $43,000 less than it was in 2005, when prices peaked.
“December’s median home price was the lowest it’s been for the month in seven years. In fact, the median home price was even lower than the median condo price during the month of December,” Warren said. “Home price declines will not level off until sales start to climb for several consecutive months.”
December condominium sales dropped 38.1 percent to 96 from 155 in December 2007. The drop only added to a decline that sent condo sales to their lowest level in 10 years in the Ocean State. There were 1,502 condos sold last year, a 34.3 percent drop from 2,285 in 2007. It’s the fewest number of condos sold since 1998, when 1,471 condos were sold.
Despite the decrease in volume, prices only dropped 6.8 percent to $210,263 in 2008 from $225,500 in 2007.