Report: RI among the least affordable places to buy home

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Rhode Island has been ranked one of the country’s least affordable housing markets in March.

The Rhode Island Association of Realtors released its first-quarter market report Wednesday, saying the state’s median house price rose by 10 percent. The Providence Journal reports Rhode Island - alongside Hawaii, California, Oregon, the District of Columbia and Montana - were identified as the least affordable places to live in the country.

The association says strong gains in the housing markets are negatively impacting affordability - particularly among first-time home buyers.

The realtors’ association also reported a 2 percent drop in the number of single-family house sales in this quarter. There were 1,938 houses sold in Rhode Island during the first three months of 2018, down from 1,982 in the same period last year.

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Information from: The Providence Journal, http://www.providencejournal.com