R.I. home sales fall 18 percent

PROVIDENCE -- Sales of single-family homes in Rhode Island fell 18 percent and the median selling price fell 11 percent as the slide in the real estate market continued in April.

Real estate tracking firm The Warren Group said Tuesday that the median price of a single-family home dropped from $270,000 in April 2007 to $239,500 in April 2008.

The number of condo sales plunged 38 percent, but prices of condos ticked up from $223,500 in April 2007 to $227,000 a year later.

Timothy Warren Jr., chief executive of The Warren Group, says that with prices as they are, it's possible first-time home buyers will see an opportunity to buy. But he adds there's no evidence that's happened yet.