Walt's Real Estate Window #68

We open Walt's Window number 68 with a quote from architecture expert Ada Louise Huxtable. "Real estate is the closest thing to the proverbial pot of gold."

It really is, and I am your leprechaun. I promise to go to the end of the rainbow with you to find your gold.

CLOSING KING

Barrington is home the the biggest closing of the week. 35 Fessenden Road sold before print in a cash deal for $6.5 million.

A North Providence 2 bedroom condo on Josephine is The Duke, selling for $195,000.

2,348 single families, condos, multis and pieces of land are on the market. 1,350 are single families and 406 are condos. 180 closed during the week, while 217 went under contract.

LANDLORDS BEWARE

Real estate scammers stole more than $50,000 from Rhode Island landlords, according to the most recent batch of FBI stats.

The feds released their 2025 numbers that show 40 were victimized to the tune of $51,969. That's a drop in the bucket considering accross the country this type of fraud added up to $275 million.

RATES STABELIZE AND ACTIVITY RISES

Lending rates slipped a bit during the week and that brought more activityin refinancing and mortgage applications.

Apps for new purchases rose by 3% while there was a 5% jump in refinance requests. We need lower rates and any dip is appreciated.

THE NEXT REAL BOOM

Here are 9 markets that could be home to the next batch of real estate booms. Raleigh, North Carolina tops the list that includes 6 southern cities and Cincinnati, which is right on the line.

So, go South young man. These pockets of affordability were gathered from a poll of real estate experts and research by travelandleisure.com. My pick is Greenville, where the average price now is only 300k.

WALT'S PICK IN THE MILLION DOLLAR RANGE

1 Tanglewood Drive in Barrington is a great choice, hitting the market at just under a million. This one has 2,100 square feet of space with 4 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms and 2 half bathrooms in Hampden Meadows.

It's also been freshly renovated and sits on a good sized lot for Barrington.

85 active condos and single family homes are in the $980,000 to $1.2 million range. 12 are new listings. 8 went under contract during the week and 9 sold. By the way, all of these numbers have been pretty steady for months.

WALT'S PICK IN THE MEDIAN RANGE

My favorite this week is an East Side condo. 179 Transit Street is listed for $495,000 and would be a great downsizing option. It would also be an awesome choice for first time homebuyers. Recent Brown grads and faculty come to mind.

This is a great location in one of my favorite neighborhoods and has three bedrooms and 1,000 square feet of space.

There are now 134 active condos and single families between $480,000 and $530,000. 97 are single families. 36 are new listings. 14 in this range closed during the week and 35 went under contract.

SPOTLIGHT ON SOUTH KINGSTOWN

South Kingstown has a fantastic combination of coastal life, village character, and open space. The beaches are an obvious plus. I hear South Kingstown and I immediately think about the beaches. Then there's the charm of spots like Wakefield and Peace Dale that give the the town a wonderful variety.

Residents also enjoy the parks, hiking trails, the South County Bike Path, boating and fishing, while still having convenient access to shopping, dining and everyday amenities. It’s a community where the Rhode Island coastline and year-round living fit naturally together.

There are 91 active properties in SK and we've seen 36 closinge in the last 60 days here in the state's 7th most populated community.

The low right now is $285,000 for a Mary Carpenter's Beach cottage. The highest active is on Coast Guard Road. $6.5 million will get you a spot on this porch.

Who wouldn't love to be sitting in that swing right now?

Now, the numbers. There are 70 single families on the active list and 8 condos.

The median price for a single is unchanged from last year but still up there at $694,500. That's nearly 200k above the state median.

Days on Market is up by an entire 24 hours compared to last year, but still under a month.

This week, South Kingstown is in the Spotlight, but check Window archives to find recent posts on Providence, Pawtucket, East Providence, Warren, Barrington, North Providence, Johnston, Cumberland, Lincoln, Cranston, Newport, Middletown, Portsmouth, Tiverton, East Greenwich, Narragansett, Coventry, North Kingstown and Warwick.

QUIZ TIME.

Asked and answered by a couple of readers. According to NOAA, Maine is home to 3,478 miles of costline. That's about 50 miles more than California.

By the way, Alaska is by far number one with 34,000 miles of coastline, followed by Florida with 8,500. Rhode Island has about 400 miles but I would argue we have the best variety of coastline.

The prize money will be donated to St. Jude's Childrens Hospital.

This week's New England trivia question is, What state was the first to declare its independence from England?

Thank you for reading the 68th Walt's Real Estate Window. Text me at 401-339-0090 when you're ready to buy or sell, and as always your comments and questions are welcome. Have an amazing week!