Sales of single-family houses in Rhode Island dropped 15.6% in December from the same month a year ago, the Rhode Island Association of Realtors said.
In December 2018, 775 houses were sold, compared to 918 in December 2017, according to figures from the association.
As the number of sales dropped, the median sales price rose 3.9%, from $255,000 to $265,000.
"The decrease in sales could be caused by low inventory, adjusting interest rates, tax reform influence, or some combination of the three," said Dean deTonnancourt, president of the association. "The government shutdown which began within the last 10 days of the year could have also had a small impact."
For condominiums, the number of sales remained the same for December, 160 in 2017 and 160 in 2018. The median price dropped 6.7%, from $231,000 to $215,500.
The number of sales of multi-unit houses declined, from 197 in December 2017 to 170 in 2018, a 13.7% drop. The median price rose 15.3%, from $255,000 to $259,450.
