Sales of single-family homes in Rhode Island rose 14.4% in 2009 compared with a year earlier, more than in any other New England state, as well as the biggest rise in multi-family home sales, at 35.6 percent. But the median price of a single-family home in Rhode Island slid 13.3%. Multi-family homes fell by even more, falling 32% to average $94,000, down from $133,000 in 2008.

In Nearby Massachusetts, 2009 saw single-family home sales rise for the first time in four years, but the median sales price remained almost 20% below its 2005 peak. The Warren group reported sales of single-family homes climbed 3% year over year, while the median price fell 6.6%, from $305,000 to $285,000, the group said.

 ”The latter part of 2009 gave us some clear signs that the housing market is stabilizing and heading for a recovery, and while prices were still falling the percentage drop last year wasn’t as steep as it was in the previous two years,” said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. “What’s more, December was the first month in more than two years that the monthly median home price climbed year-over-year. The improving economy and the homebuyer tax credit definitely helped fuel home sales.”

The Warren Group said December home sales in Massachusetts increased 16.8% from a year earlier. December was the sixth consecutive month single-family home sales increased statewide. December’s median home price rose 10.4% to $295,000, the first annual increase in the monthly median since September 2007. Bank-owned properties represented 4.5 percent of all sales in 2009, down from 5.2 percent a year earlier.

Condo sales fell 6.8 percent from the prior year, which was the fewest transactions since 1996. Still, sales rose 29 percent in December compared with a year earlier, the fourth consecutive month that condo sales increased in the State. The Warren Group also reported that 5.5 percent of condo sales involved bank-owned condos, up from 4.5 percent in 2008.

This Week’s Real Estate Insight

There are reports throughout Southern New England that the market is starting to show signs of stabilization, we are seeing a more balanced supply of homes on the market.  While unemployment remains high, falling prices, low interest rates, and the tax credit might help spur sales this Spring.

When I first opened up Residential Properties in 1981, people would ask me where I worked and I would say Residential Properties…almost as a question, since almost no one knew who we were.  Today, I am proud to say that the RPL Chevron is almost recognizable as MacDonald’s Golden Arches in our State.

The real estate industry today bears little resemblance to the way we did business back then.  The internet has changed everything. According to the 2009 National Association of Realtors® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 90% used the Internet at some point, seven years ago only 41% of buyers used the internet.

When asked where they found the home that they ultimately bought, 36% of buyers found the home on the Internet; another 36% learned of that home from a real estate agent. In 2001 48% of the people found their home through an agent and only 8% of the people found their ultimate home from the internet.

It is not always what happens, but how you react that determines your success.  I am proud of the amount and quality of information we provide on residentialproperties.com. With more and more information on the web, more people are turning to a professional for help sorting through all of it. And how do people choose their agents?  They look for someone with a great online presence who has knowledge of the process and the market.  

This Week’s Real Estate Insight:

There are lessons to be learned from NAR’s annual profile of buyers and sellers. It makes sense to apply them. The most effective methods to bring buyers and sellers together are the Internet, working with an agent (who learns about properties through the MLS), and signs. 84% of buyers learned about their home through one of these sources. If you want to sell your home, look for an agent with a great reputation, whose company has a great web presence and good market share.