All Entries in the "Real Estate" Category
State-Wide MLS 2015 Year In Review
A SOLID YEAR OF RECOVERY SETS UP FUTURE GROWTH IN RHODE ISLAND’S HOUSING MARKET
While housing sales began to improve in 2012, 2015 appeared to be the year which put the real estate downturn solidly in Rhode Island’s rear view mirror. With single family home sales increasing year-after-year, every month for the past year, and the median price of those sales rising in all but two months of the past 13, the faulty footing of Rhode Island’s housing market seems to be a thing of the past. A consistent trend of improving market conditions appears to be the new normal.
“We’ve seen continual improvement in our housing market this year,” commented Arthur Yatsko, 2016 president of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors. “Sales activity has been strong and though prices are still down from their peak, most homeowners have regained most, if not all, of any equity lost during the housing downturn. A better economic outlook seems to have reinvigorated home sales and continued low interest rates have helped keep home ownership affordable.”
And though news of a likely hike in interest rates could threaten to quell sales in 2016, one industry expert has issued exciting news for Rhode Island homeowners looking to sell their property in the coming year. A new report issued by realtor. com places the Providence-Warwick area in the number one spot on its list of hottest real estate markets in 2016.
Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for realtor.com, predicts that the 2016 housing market will experience solid but moderate growth throughout most of the country, with sales and prices rising by three percent. By comparison, Smoke expects to see Rhode Island sales activity and median price in the single family home market rise by as much as ten percent.
Markets on realtor.com’s top ten growth list can thank growing household formation, a better job market and/or large numbers of millennials, young gen-X’ers and retirees, all of which are demographic groups that are expected to drive the market in 2016.
According to Smoke, some of the areas which are expected to see better than average growth, are just now seeing signs of recovery and better economic conditions forecasted for next year. He also indicated that top growth markets like Providence, could get a boost from spillover sales from nearby markets in demand. The Rhode Island housing market for example, could benefit from the pricier Boston market, which was identified as one of the top markets for growth in 2015. Boston also made realtor.com’s overall top ten list for 2016, and ranks number one in the 65-74 age group, or those looking to retire, downsize or relocate.
While it’s hard to know for sure whether Rhode Island home sales will be a standout in 2016, Yatsko believes that Rhode Island is not poised for another housing bubble. “Ten years ago, Rhode Island was a leader in price appreciation but those hikes in price were too much, too fast. We don’t have the same scenario now. Consumers today are well aware of the perils of over reaching for a home and tighter lending standards have curtailed bad loans. As a result, our housing market is more solid. I’m not sure if an improving economy helped our real estate market or if an improving housing market helped boost our economy, but either way, it’s encouraging,” he said.
It’s A New Year! Resolutions from Rhode Island Business Leaders…
Arthur Yatsko
2016 President, Rhode Island Association of REALTORS®
My New Year’s resolution is to help make the RI Association of Realtors an even greater asset to our members and the communities they serve. We can accomplish that by promoting the importance of housing as an economic driver and by helping to facilitate an environment in which all Rhode Islanders can meet their housing goals. By embracing the National Association of Realtors recently adopted Commitment to Excellence, our state association can be an impactful vehicle for positive change.
Gina Raimondo
Rhode Island Governor 
My New Year’s Resolution is to continue to expand opportunities so everyone can make it in Rhode Island. I will be working hard in 2016 to see that all Rhode Islanders have opportunity by building skills, creating jobs and innovating in government. We all have a role to play in Rhode Island’s comeback. Together, we are rebuilding our state’s middle class. We have momentum – it’s working. A happy and healthy New Year to all Rhode Islanders!
Maria Gemma
Executive Director, Gloria Gemma Cancer Research Foundation 
The team of the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation is excited to enter 2016 with an ambitious vision of providing even more breast cancer education and resources to the many diverse communities of Rhode Island. In a state where 1 in 6 women will be touched by breast cancer, many individuals and families need a support structure to help them navigate through turbulent time in their lives.
Rhode Island’s Housing Market Stays Strong in 3rd Quarter
| WARWICK, RI – It was a busy third quarter in Rhode Island’s housing market according to sales statistics released by the Rhode Island Association of Realtors. Home sales activity was significantly greater than the third quarter of 2014 and homeowners saw solid gains in price appreciation. The Association, which tracks Realtor-assisted sales recorded through State-Wide Multiple Listing Service, released its third quarter sales data today.
The number of single family homes sold from July through September of this year increased 12 percent from the same time period of the prior year and median price rose nine percent to $234,500. Median price – the midpoint of all sales prices – ranged from a high of nearly $1.6 million in Block Island to a low of $120,000 in Central Falls. The Rhode Island Association of Realtors reports median price rather than average price as extreme sales price outliers can skew the average considerably. The number of foreclosure and short sales in the single family home market fell by 24 percent with Newport, Jamestown, Block Island and West Greenwich having no distressed sales at all during the third quarter. Distressed sales accounted for nine percent of all single family home sold from July through September. “We’re poised to go into the end of 2015 on a high note. Activity and prices have been rising, though not at an unhealthy rate. As of now, factors like the improving economy and continued low interest rates should keep buyers in the market,” said Bruce Lane, 2015 President of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors. The number of multi-family home sales rose 28 percent in the third quarter and the median sales price of those properties rose 13 percent to $175,000. Often purchased by investors, the number of multi-family homes sold through foreclosure or short sale decreased 24 percent since third quarter, 2014. Once the segment of the market predominately impacted by foreclosure and short sales, such sales made up just 15 percent of the total multi-family home sales in the third quarter of this year, down from a high of more than 80 percent during the housing downturn. The condominium market also saw a significant increase in sales with the number of closings increasing 14 percent. Median price remained stable, rising .03 percent to $200,000 and distressed sales fell by 51 percent, accounting for just under six percent of total condo sales in the third quarter. “Homeowners have made solid gains in home equity so far this year. We’ve been fortunate to see low interest rates maintained by the Federal government which in many cases, has helped to make home ownership even more affordable than renting,” said Lane. |
Bruce Lane2015 REALTOR® 3rd Quarter 2015 ———– 3rd Quarter 2015 ———– 3rd Quarter 2015
|
About the Rhode Island Association of REALTORS®The Rhode Island Association of REALTORS®, one of the largest trade organizations in Rhode Island with more than 4,400 members in approximately 750 offices, has been serving Rhode Islanders since 1948. Advocating for Rhode Islands property owners, the Rhode Island Association of REALTORS® provides a facility for professional development, research and exchange of information among its members and to the public and government for the purpose of preserving the free enterprise system and the right to own real property. The Association is one of more than 1,400 local boards and associations that comprise the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing over 1.2 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries and who subscribe to a strict Code of Ethics. REALTOR® is a federally registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics. |
BankRI Provides $5.57 Million Financing to WSCHB, LLC for Construction of Medical Office Building in Westerly
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Bank Rhode Island (BankRI) announced today that its Commercial Real Estate Division recently financed a $5.57 million construction loan for WSCHB, LLC to assist with the acquisition and development of nearly 4 acres of land in Westerly.
BankRI’s loan to WSCHB, LLC, an East Greenwich-based real estate holding company, will help support the construction of a 30,000 square foot multi-tenanted medical office facility located at 268 Post Road in Westerly. The project is being developed, constructed and managed by John K. Greim, Jr., Managing Partner of WSCHB, LLC. The site will be developed into the Westerly Medical and Wellness Center. Two of the building’s major tenants include South County Health and Orthopedics Rhode Island.
“This is an exciting project that will turn a vacant lot into medical facility that will serve as an important resource for residents across southern Rhode Island,” said Keb Brackenbury, Senior Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Lending for BankRI. “We’re pleased to have had the opportunity to work with WSCHB, LLC and help get this project started.”
Keb Brackenbury, Senior Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Lending for BankRI facilitated the transaction.
BankRI’s Commercial Real Estate Division provides financing for the construction, refinancing, or purchasing of investment real estate projects. For more information, contact Keb Brackenbury at (401) 574-1615.
About Bank Rhode Island
Bank Rhode Island, a wholly owned subsidiary of Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL), is a full-service, FDIC-insured financial institution headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. The bank operates 19 branches and more than 55 ATMs throughout Providence, Kent and Washington Counties. For more information, visit www.BANKRHODEISLAND.com. You can also find BankRI on Facebook atwww.Facebook.com/BankRhodeIsland.
