Warwick single-family home sales for the month of October dropped a dramatic 19 percent from October 2016, according to data released this week by the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.

But as the number of sales dropped, the median price of a Warwick single-family home increased from $195,000 last October to $216,450 this year, an increase of 11 percent. The Warwick median price is still below the state median price of $264,950, but holding true to its position as the municipality with the greatest number of sales, 106 of the 1,038 single-family homes sold statewide were Warwick sales.

Philip Slocum of the Slocum Agency sums up the situation in a single sentence: “It all comes down to supply and demand.” And as has been the case for the past year, if not longer, the demand exceeds the supply.

“It’s a lack of inventory,” said Slocum.

Slocum said demand is across the board in Warwick and whether a home is listed “north of 500 [$500,000] or south of 500,” there is activity. If there’s a sweet spot for Warwick housing, Slocum put it at in the range of $225,000 that he said is in the range of first time homebuyers.

“With these tight inventory conditions, buyers need to be able to act quickly. There’s no such thing as being too prepared in a market like this,” said Joseph Luca, president of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors in a release. He said, “If people have been thinking about selling, this is a great time. Prices are up, interest rates are still low for potential buyers and there’s little competition out there. Plus, there’s no telling what might happen to the housing market next year with pending tax reforms brewing in Washington. Strike while the iron is hot.”

Slocum sees the local demand as being driven by multiple factors, including an improving economy giving people the resources to buy to higher rents that have people thinking they can swing ownership and build equity.

Slocum doesn’t see any one company moving into the area or expanding resulting in an influx of potential homeowners.

“Many companies are in a strong growth mode,” he said. He believes this has served to create a strong job market that translates into higher paying jobs.

While inventories are down, Slocum said 2017 has been a record-breaking year for his company. He doesn’t imagine, either, that things will slow down.

“Have faith and know that the winter does not stop the real estate market,” he said.

According to the association, activity skyrocketed last month in the condo market when sales rose 44.4 percent from 12 months earlier. The median price of those sales however, fell 8.3 percent to $199,900. Pending sales also fell 8.9 percent and listings dropped by 7.2 percent.

Statewide, multifamily property sales were 7.9 percent higher than in October 2016 and the median sales price of those sales climbed sharply, rising 21.9 percent to $219,450. Sales under contract but not yet complete fell 14.9 percent while inventory decreased by 13.1 percent from the previous October.

The number of days a listing stayed on the market fell significantly in all housing sectors last month due to the shrinking supply of listed properties. Days on market decreased from 73 in October 2016 to 59 this October in the single-family home market, from 95 to 67 in the condominium market, and from 60 to 27 in the multifamily home market.

Again reflecting the strong market, the Warwick days on market decreased from 56 last October to 40 this year, a decline of nearly 29 percent.