![]() So we’re already at a net loss and we haven’t even provided any other services besides the school system at that point.”Ī 2015 study the Builders Association commissioned from Ed Tebaldi, an economist at Bryant University, argued that the lack of new housing for families was hurting Rhode Island’s economy. “Using simple numbers – if a house contributes $5,000 per year for taxes to the municipality, we’re looking at somewhere around $15,000 to educate the child. “A residential subdivision will always come out on the negative side when you do the math,” she said. Part of the reason: Rhode Island relies more heavily on local funding for K-12 education than states in other parts of the country. We’re afraid to have families live in our state, to stay in our state, to repopulate the state.”Īshley Sweet, the town planner in Exeter and legislative liaison for the American Planning Association’s Rhode Island chapter, acknowledged that the number of children who will live in a new housing development is “part of the discussion” when communities consider potential projects. “That’s the fundamental problem when it comes to residential housing. “We’re looking at kids – our future – as a liability,” he said. Marcantonio said the biggest reason municipalities resist adding new housing units is taxpayers fear the cost of educating more children in the public schools. Average rents rose 5% in 2017 to $1,393 a month. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Providence area was tied with Manchester, New Hampshire, as the tightest rental market in New England last year, with a vacancy rate of only 3%, according to data from the U.S. It’s not just buyers feeling the effects – renters are, too. ![]() “We don’t want to get to a point where affordability issues are creating havoc with the market again,” he warned over the winter. In fact, the market has gotten so hot that the president of the state Realtors group, Joseph Luca, has publicly expressed hope that the pace of sales will “moderate” this year compared with 2017. “I’d say that Rhode Island real estate is doing very, very well,” and even better than Massachusetts and Connecticut, he said in an email. Timothy Warren, CEO of the Warren Group real-estate information firm, said single-family homes sales have “increased dramatically” in Rhode Island in recent years. While the median sale price is still well below its peak of $282,900 back in 2005, home values are significantly above where they were in the 1990s. More than 11,000 single-family homes were sold in Rhode Island in both 20, compared with fewer than 7,000 during the downturn, according to HousingWorks RI, a research and advocacy group at Roger Williams University. “There’s just not a lot out there right now.” He said he’s been surprised by how much money some sellers are seeking, and he’s seen houses bought before they even formally hit the market. ![]() “I was very naive going in and have quickly realized that it’s a lot harder than I initially thought,” Owens said. The couple started to search after they got married last October. Timothy Owens, who currently lives with his wife and their yellow lab in a small apartment in Wakefield, is among those on the hunt for a house. “There’s not a desire to leave the state, so much as a lot of folks feel like they have to, financially,” he said. “There’s huge demand to live in Rhode Island – contrary to what folks think, right?” said John Marcantonio, head of the Rhode Island Builders Association. ![]() That’s causing a housing crunch for a growing number of Rhode Islanders, particularly younger families looking to buy a starter home, experts say. Houses were on the market for just 65 days in February, down from 110 days in 2015, and the number up for sale was down by half versus 2012. The median price of a single-family home in Rhode Island hit $255,000 last year, up 13% since 2015 and 34% since 2012, according to the Rhode Island Association of Realtors. If you or someone you know has been looking for a house lately, it’s not your imagination: Rhode Island’s housing market is red hot once again.Ī decade after the housing bubble burst and the Great Recession took hold, all signs now point to a seller’s market. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |