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Rhode Island
Fed interest rate cuts could draw out-of-state homebuyers to Rhode Island, increasing home prices – The Boston Globe
Some experts expect the reduction could come as soon as next month, though Powell did not provide a specific timeline. “The time has come for policy to adjust,” the Fed chair said in a speech. “The direction of travel is clear, and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks.”
Chris Whitten, president-elect of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors, told the Globe Friday that buyers who had been waiting for mortgage rates to fall may now move to acquire homes. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage currently averages close to 6.5 percent, according to Freddie Mac.
Whitten suggested that lower borrowing costs could encourage potential homeowners from across the border in Massachusetts, for example, to look for more affordable options in Rhode Island.
In July, the median price for a single-family home in Rhode Island had risen to $495,000, a 12.5 percent increase over a year ago. While home prices may be going up in the Ocean State, in neighboring Massachusetts homes are even more expensive. The median price of a single-family home in the Bay State is $678,500, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.
During the pandemic when rates were lower, willing buyers who were priced out of Massachusetts towns close to the Rhode Island border — like Rehoboth, North Attleboro and Plainville — were looking to purchase in the Rhode Island communities of Lincoln, Cumberland, Burrillville and East Providence, where homes were less expensive, Whitten said.
“What I anticipate with the rates coming down is that you’re going to have a lot of people coming from Massachusetts looking over the border, because things are a little bit more affordable,” he told the Globe. “We did see that happen, and I really anticipate that will be the case again, once the rates start to go low, because we’re going to have more buyers in the market and the prices going up due to the supply and demand.”
Whitten said that Rhode Island has struggled to build enough homes to match increasing demand. “Here’s another thing that’s sadly unique to Rhode Island. We are dead last in new construction build and we are also dead last in the country in permits, the start of new construction,” Whitten said. “We are a small state, and we love it for so many reasons, but we are a small state that doesn’t have a lot of land to develop.”
Rhode Island Realtors has been working to encourage policymakers to reduce red tape to allow for more homes to be developed, Whitten said, to increase the supply of homes and ease the pressure on prices in the state’s housing market.
“You’re looking at a lot of existing, preexisting, homes that everybody is going to be buying and selling and very, very, very few new construction homes,” he said.
Omar Mohammed can be reached at omar.mohammed@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter (X) @shurufu.
CUMBERLAND, R.I. (WPRI) — Rhode Island State Police are investigating a crash that happened on I-295 North in Cumberland Tuesday night.
The crash happened in the right lane near Exit 22 just before 9 p.m.
It’s unclear exactly what caused the crash or if anyone was injured.
12 News has reached out to Rhode Island State Police for more information but has not heard back.
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Scandals shake up Capitol Hill ahead of midterm elections
Congressional reporter Zachary Schermele dives into the latest scandals on Capitol Hill and how they’re shaking up politics ahead of midterms.
Rhode Island’s Democrat and Republican primary elections will officially be held on Wednesday, Sept. 9 this year, instead of the usual Tuesday election day.
Lawmakers passed the bill at the urging of state and local officials, who were concerned that an election day falling the day after Labor Day would not give them enough time to set up polls for the arrival of voters.
Gov. Dan McKee signed the bill on April 20, officially moving the primary day for 2026.
Which races will be on the ballot? The Republican and Democrat nominees for a swath of local offices – most notably governor but also lieutenant governor and attorney general.
Why was RI’s primary day moved?
At a hearing on the bill earlier this year, Randy Rossi, executive director of the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns explained the “significant logistical and financial challenges” municipalities otherwise would have faced having an election the day after Labor Day.
“Beyond cost, municipalities face serious logistical challenges accessing and setting up more than 430 polling locations on a major federal holiday, a process that often requires many hours and access to facilities that are typically closed and unstaffed on Labor Day,” he said.
“Compounding these challenges, many municipalities conduct early voting in city or town halls that must also serve as primary day polling locations,” Rossi noted.
Without changes to current law, he said, “municipalities would be required to conduct early voting and primary day polling simultaneously, often in the same limited space and with the same poll workers, requiring additional staffing and facilities.”
By the time this legislative hearing took place in January, other states facing similar issues, including Massachusetts, had already adjusted their primary dates, “and Rhode Island itself has demonstrated that alternative scheduling can be successful, as occurred during the statewide Wednesday primary in 2018,” Rossi said.
EAST GREENWICH, R.I. (WPRI) — If you’re looking to satisfy you’re sweet tooth, look no further than Division Street.
Nothing Bundt Cakes opened its first Rhode Island bakery in East Greenwich earlier this month. The new bakery is situated within East Greenwich Square, which is also home to the Ocean State’s first Crumbl.
The bakery is known for its handcrafted specialty Bundt cakes, as well as smaller “Bundtlets,” and bite-sized “Bundtinis,” that come in a variety of flavors.
“There’s a strong sense of local pride, creativity, and community here that aligns perfectly with our values,” said Jake Williams, who owns the East Greenwich bakery. “We were drawn to the area’s vibrant small business culture and the opportunity to contribute something special.”
Nothing Bundt Cakes is also expected to open another bakery at Chapel View in Cranston later this year.
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