In the Providence, RI market in October, sales of new homes sank year-over-year, and the decline was by a larger percentage than the September 2011. New home sales moved from 30 a year earlier to eight after the figure moved from 40 in September 2010 to 16 in September 2011.

A total of 243 new homes were sold during the 12 months that ended in October, down from 265 for the year that ended in September.

New home sales accounted for eight of the 969 total sales, a smaller percentage compared with 30 of 1,147 sales a year earlier. For new and existing homes, sales dropped in October after also declining in September year-over-year.

The average new home price in October 2011 went up to $370,312 from $312,348 a year ago. This was on the heels of a 15.7% fall in September from a year earlier.

The average mortgage size on new homes was $267,010, up from $183,188. In September 2011, average mortgage size slid 29.0% from a year earlier. Of the overall sale price, the percentage that was being financed increased 13.5 percentage points year-over-year to 72.1% in October 2011. This came after an 11.7 percentage point decline in September from a year earlier.

The share of new home sales made up by attached units has risen while the share belonging to single-family homes has fallen. Attached sales made up two of eight new home sales after accounting for four of 30 a year earlier. Meanwhile, single-family homes made up six of eight new home sales after making up 26 of 30 a year earlier.

The average unit size of newly sold homes fell from 1,864 square feet a year earlier to 1,786 square feet.

Foreclosures and real estate owned (REO) sales continued to rise in October from a year earlier and stayed a drag on the market. Foreclosures and REO sales, taken together, accounted for 47.0% of existing home sales, higher than 34.9% a year earlier. The percentage of existing home sales involving foreclosures rose to 29.8% in October from 16.7% a year earlier and REO sales moved from 18.2% of existing home sales in October 2010 to 17.3% in October 2011.

Please refer to the ABOUT THIS MSA tab to learn more about geographic coverage and data availability in this market area.