JOHNSTON − At $200,000, a 900-square-foot condo in Johnston is the least expensive option in town.
“That’s why we priced it like that, for a quick sale,” real estate agent Beatrice Whitman said. “I just listed it and there’s tremendous activity.”
With a monthly condo fee of $349 that includes heat, the condo is “extremely affordable.”
The condo is well below the current median price of condos in the state, $340,400, and a little below the pre-pandemic median price of $234,000 in 2019.
“Right now, we still have a hot market,” she said.
“Affordable” condos are hard to come by as real estate prices have rocketed since the pandemic, as have single-family and multi-family homes.
The Providence Journal analyzed data provided by the Rhode Island Association of Realtors to peek behind the statewide median price of all three types of residences.
The communities with the most-affordable condos or multi-family homes in some cases mirror, but in other cases deviate from, those with the most affordable single family homes.
Where are all the affordable houses?The 12 most economical single-family communities for RI buyers
Pawtucket is one of the most affordable communities to buy a house or a condo, but not a multi-family building, while Warwick, West Warwick and North Providence made it onto all three affordability lists.
Providence, with the most multi-family and condo sales in the state, was the 18th most affordable place to buy a multi-family and the 15th to buy a condo.
This story is part of a series on those prices. Last week’s story examined the cities and towns where the median cost of a single-family house is below $400,000.
Condos and multi-family homes offer different forms of affordability
Condos and multi-family homes make up a much smaller portion of the market than single-family homes, but they are both seen as alternatives to single-family homes for economic reasons.
Condos are generally cheaper than their single-family home counterparts. In the first six months of the year, the median price of a condo was $340,400, while the median price of a single-family home was $412,000, an 18% difference.
Multi-family properties, until recently, were priced about the same as single-family homes but were considered more affordable because they can bring in rental income, offsetting the costs of ownership.
Is there any sign of a cooldown?Rhode Island house prices hit record highs in June.
In this first half of this year, the median price of a multi-family house was $450,000, 9% over single-family homes and 28% over condos.
Since the onset of the pandemic, median multi-family home prices have risen slightly above their single-family home counterparts.
Quick look at the stats
January-June 2023
Single-family home median price: $365,00, 3,489 sales
Condo median median price: $340,400, 792 sales
Multi-family median price: $450,000, 667 sales
Total residential sales: 4,948
What happened to condo prices in Rhode Island?
Between January and June this year, the median condo sale price was $340,400, with 792 sales. That compares to single-family homes hitting $412,000 with 3,489 sales.
The median condo price since 2019 is up 45%, from $234,000 in 2019 to $340,400 in the first half of this year, or 61% from 2019 to June, when the median price hit $376,450.
The median price of a condo in the state between January and June, $340,400 is 17% cheaper then the median price of a single-family house, $412,000.
DatabaseHistoric median housing prices, 2019 to first half of 2023
Pawtucket was the most affordable community to buy a condo so far this year, at $232,500, followed by North Providence at $237,500, Burrillville at $240,000 and Hopkinton at $263,400.
For the ranking, communities with less than three condo sales were removed, including Central Falls, with two sales.
Whitman, selling the condo in Johnston, said one-level condos are becoming increasingly rare and sought after as “mature buyers” want something that is “easier on the knees.”
Just like condo and single-family houses, multi-family residences have gone up in price since the onset of the pandemic.
During the first six months of this year, the median sales price was $450,000, with 667 sales, while in 2019, the median price was $270,000, an increase of 67%.
The greatest number of multi-family home sales are consistently in Providence, with 248 so far this year. However, Providence ranks 18th for multi-family affordability, with a median price of $480,000. In 2019, Providence’s median price was just below the statewide median, at $265,000, meaning the median price in the capital is up 81% since 2019.
Whitman said she is telling her would-be multi-family home buyers to hold off, as prices have risen so dramatically.
“The pricing is ridiculous,” she said. “It’s absolutely ridiculous how they’re being priced. The comps are just not there to support the asking price.”
Multi-family houses are priced so high that the rent they bring in is not enough to offset the costs of ownership.
“Why spend $600,000 to $700,000 when you’re only taking in half as much as the mortgage costs?” Whitman said. “It doesn’t make sense, so don’t do it. I’ve been doing this for many, many years, and I won’t represent buyers on a multi-family unless it’s priced right.”
At the current interest rate of 7%, a $600,000 mortgage costs $3,992 a month, while a $700,000 mortgage costs $4,657 a month.
How much does a mortgage cost for the cheapest condos or multi-family building?
The cheapest condos in the state right now are in Pawtucket, at a median price of $232,500, with 11 total communities having median prices below $300,000. The low end for multi-family houses starts at $350,000 and goes to $400,000.
The purchase price is just a part of the larger equation on what a family can afford to buy. As interest rates have gone up, purchasing power has gone down.
Mortgages for the low end of the market break down like this, assuming a 7% interest rate and excluding costs like maintenance, private mortgage insurance (PMI) and property taxes.
- $250,000, $1,663 monthly payment
- $300,000, $1,996 monthly payment
- $350,000, $2,329 monthly payment
- $400,000, $2,661 monthly payment
The following rankings, ordered by least expensive, are based on the first six months of the year. Towns with less than two sales in the first half of 2023 were excluded from the rankings and only the 11 cities and towns with median prices at or below $300,000 made the list.
Click the town names to jump down to their statistics.
- Pawtucket: $232,500 median, 18 units sold
- North Providence: $237,500, 58 units sold
- Burrillville: $240,000, 9 units sold
- Hopkinton: $263,400, 3 units sold
- Woonsocket: $272,500, 16 units sold
- Johnston: $275,500, 12 units sold
- West Warwick: $277,950, 72 units sold
- Charlestown: $281,400, 5 units sold
- Smithfield: $290,000, 27 units sold
- Warwick: $299,500, 75 units sold
- Cranston: $300,000, 25 units sold
1. Pawtucket
Median price, January-June 2023: $232,500 (18 sales)
Median price, 2022: $222,500
Median price, 2019: $162,500
Percent change between 2019 and 2023: 43%
Rank in 2019: 4
2023 Single family house affordability rank: 3
Median price, January-June 2023: $237,500 (58 sales)
Median price, 2022: $220,000 (194 sales)
Median price, 2019: $179,900 (182 sales)
Percent change between 2019 and 2023: 37%
Rank in 2019: 7
2023 Single family house affordability rank: 7
Median price, January-June 2023: $240,000 (9 sales)
Median price, 2022: $216,000 (15 sales)
Median price, 2019: $151,500 (30 sales)
Percent change between 2019 and 2023: 58%
Rank in 2019: 2
2023 Single family house affordability rank: 11
Median price, January-June 2023: $263,400 (3 sales)
Median price, 2022: $279,900 (9 sales)
Median price, 2019: $245,000 (13 sales)
Percent change between 2019 and 2023: 8%
Rank in 2019: 17
2023 Single family house affordability rank: 23
Median price, January-June 2023: $272,500 (16 sales)
Median price, 2022: $219,000 (68 sales)
Median price, 2019: $148,000 (77 sales)
Percent change between 2019 and 2023: 84%
Rank in 2019: 1
2023 Single family house affordability rank: 2
Median price, January-June 2023: $275,500 (12 sales)
Median price, 2022: $325,000 (79)
Median price, 2019: $163,000 (33)
Percent change between 2019 and 2023: 69%
Rank in 2019: 5
2023 Single family house affordability rank: 10
Median price, January-June 2023: $277,950 (72 sales)
Median price, 2022: $272,000 (117 sales)
Median price, 2019: $169,900 (123 sales)
Percent change between 2019 and 2023: 64%
Rank in 2019: 6
2023 Single family house affordability rank: 4
Median price, January-June 2023: $281,400 (5 sales)
Median price, 2022: $241,000 (12)
Median price, 2019: $195,000 (19)
Percent change between 2019 and 2023: 48%
Rank in 2019: 10
2023 Single family house affordability rank: 28
Median price, January-June 2023: $290,000 (27 sales)
Median price, 2022: $285,000 (60 sales)
Median price, 2019: $236,250 (128 sales)
Percent change between 2019 and 2023: 23%
Rank in 2019: 14
2023 Single family house affordability rank: 21
Median price, January-June 2023: $299,500 (75 sales)
Median price, 2022: $296,500 (141 sales)
Median price, 2019: $180,000 (149 sales)
Percent change between 2019 and 2023: 66%
Rank in 2019: 9
2023 Single family house affordability rank: 6
Median price, January-June 2023: $300,000 (25 sales)
Median price, 2022: $265,000 (61 sales)
Median price, 2019: $205,500 (82 sales)
Percent change between 2019 and 2023: 46%
Rank in 2019: 11
2023 Single family house affordability rank: 12
The follow rankings, ordered by least expensive, are based on the first six months of the year. Towns with less than two sales in the first half of 2023 were excluded from the rankings and only the six cities and towns with median prices at or below $400,000 made the list. For single-family homes with a median price at or below $400,000, 12 made the list.
- West Warwick: $350,000, 25 units sold
- Scituate: $389,000, seven units sold
- North Providence: $390,000, 11 units sold
- Warwick: $391,500, 13 units sold
- Westerly: $394,000, 14 units sold
- North Smithfield: $400,000, five units sold
1. West Warwick
Median price, January-June 2023: $350,000 (25 sales)
Median price, 2022: $355,000 (93 sales)
Median price, 2019: $230,800 (86 sales)
Percent change between 2019 and 2023: 52%
Rank in 2019: 2
2023 Single family house affordability rank: 4
2. Scituate
Median price, January-June 2023: $389,000 (7 sales)
Median price, 2022: $454,250 (8 sales)
Median price, 2019: $242,500 (8 sales)
Percent change between 2019 and 2023: 60%
Rank in 2019: 4
2023 Single family house affordability rank: 14
3. North Providence
Median price, January-June 2023: $390,000 (11 sales)
Median price, 2022: $414,000 (46 sales)
Median price, 2019: $271,000 (41 sales)
Percent change between 2019 and 2023: 44%
Rank in 2019: 12
2023 Single family house affordability rank: 7
4. Warwick
Median price, January-June 2023: $391,500 (13 sales)
Median price, 2022: $380,500 (52 sales)
Median price, 2019: $251,000 (24 sales)
Percent change between 2019 and 2023: 56%
Rank in 2019: 6
2023 Single family house affordability rank: 6
5. Westerly
Median price, January-June 2023: $394,000 (14 sales)
Median price, 2022: $370,000 (26 sales)
Median price, 2019: $275,000 (35 sales)
Percent change between 2019 and 2023: 43%
Rank in 2019: 14
2023 Single family house affordability rank: 26
6. North Smithfield
Median price, January-June 2023: $400,000 (5 sales)
Median price, 2022: $420,000 (13 sales)
Median price, 2019: $270,500 (12 sales)
Percent change between 2019 and 2023: 48%
Rank in 2019: 11
2023 Single family house affordability rank: 18
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Reach reporter Wheeler Cowperthwaite at wcowperthwaite@providencejournal.com or follow him on Twitter @WheelerReporter.
