According to The Rhode Island Association of Realtors, September single family sales were  up 6.4% from last year.  Pending sales were up  26.3%,  marking the sixth month of increases in the pending . 29 % of single family sales involved foreclosures and short sales. This is refeclted in the average sale price,  down 20.4%, to $219,000 from $275,000 in September 2007.  The September median price of non-distressed properties was $250,000, the same as 2003’s median price. September statistics show the inventory of single family homes decreased 5.7% year to year falling from 6862 active listings in September 2007 to 6472 listings in September 2008.
Multi-family sales increased  100%!. The September 2008 median price of $135,000 for multi-family properties fell  from $253,900 in September 2007. 66% were distressed properties( short sales or foreclosures). The September median non-distressed sale price was $214,000.

Condo Sales were down  18.3% from September 2007 to September 2008. The median price fell 11.6 % from $215,000 last year to $190,100 this year,  Only 13 of the 94 condo sales in September involved distressed sales.
This Week’s Real Estate Insight:

 With job losses mounting, recovery is still far away, but falling inventory and an increase in pending sales are generally good signs  of a  housing recovery.