Charlestown gets an influx of home buyers from New York, CT, Massachusetts, California and, of course, Florida

Out-of-state home buyers flock to RI driving home prices up

RHODE ISLAND ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, INC.

RI Realtors recently released second-quarter home sales statistics which show a marked increase in buyers from other states who purchased in the Ocean State. Out-of-state buyers of single-family homes, multifamily homes and condominiums during April through June increased 69 percent from the same period last year.

Buyers from Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York comprised the bulk of out-of-state buyers both years. Buyers from California and Florida rounded out the top five.

Buyers from other states accounted for 26 percent of the total sales in the second quarter of this year, up from 21 percent in 2020. 

Their presence was even more pronounced in the luxury market, comprised of properties sold for one million dollars or more. Forty-seven percent of those sales were credited to buyers from outside of Rhode Island.

The number of total luxury sales – those which involved both out-of-state and in-state buyers – increased significantly from the previous year, rising from 49 in the second quarter of last year to 202 this year, a 312 percent hike.

Coastal towns like Little Compton, Charlestown, Jamestown and Newport, which cater to year-round as well as summer residents, saw large increases in both median price and closed transactions.

“The secret is out. Rhode Island has been discovered in the past year by those looking for a haven away from the city. Our housing market has been an economic boon throughout most of the pandemic but the increased demand for our housing stock is taking a toll. Rhode Islanders are having a hard time competing for homes with other buyers, including those from out-of-state, who often come here with cash in hand,” said Leann D’Ettore, president of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.

Overall, the number of single-family home sales at all price levels rose 17 percent year-over-year and the median sales price rose 23 percent to $369,450.

 Multifamily home sales nearly doubled, rising 94 percent and their median sales price rose 20 percent to $355,000. A good alternative to single-family homes in a tight market, condominium sales increased 82 percent and the median sales price of $290,000 represented an 18 percent increase from the second quarter of 2020.

Housing Statistics Archives

EDITOR'S NOTE: For at least the past 20 years, it has been an article of faith that Rhode Island's tax policies has been driving out upper income residents. That contention has been disproven time and again by statistics that show to extent that people leave the state, it's generally young working class families who move elsewhere looking for jobs. The latest figures (below), consistent with earlier data, show how this is still true. Note that IRS data lags by several years. - Will Collette