What a Home Actually Costs to Own in CT & RI: 208 Towns Compared

Posted by Tim Bray on August 2nd, 2026

2026 Cost of Ownership Report · Connecticut & Rhode Island

Your lender quotes you a payment. That payment is not what the house costs. Across 208 cities and towns in Connecticut and Rhode Island, the real monthly number runs more than half again higher — and the gap is widest on the houses that looked cheapest.

1.66x True cost vs.
quoted payment $19,322 Median hidden
cost per year 46% Of the gap is
property tax 208 Towns in
this report

The number you are quoted is not the number you pay

Every mortgage calculator answers one question: what is the principal and interest on this loan? It is a real number, and it is the number that gets repeated at open houses, in listing…

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Rhode Island’s “Taylor Swift Tax”: What Coastal Homeowners Need to Know

Posted by Tim Bray on July 8th, 2026

Rhode Island Property Tax · 2026

It’s nicknamed for a pop star’s Watch Hill mansion, but Rhode Island’s new second-home tax reaches far beyond the ultra-wealthy — all the way to century-old family cottages on the shoreline. If you own, or are buying, a coastal property in Rhode Island, here’s what you need to understand.

What is the “Taylor Swift Tax”?

Officially, it’s Rhode Island’s Non-Owner Occupied Property Tax (R.I. General Law § 44-72). It picked up the nickname because Taylor Swift owns a roughly $28-million oceanfront estate in Westerly’s Watch Hill — but the law itself has nothing to do with celebrities. It’s a new state-level surcharge, separate from and on top of the property tax you already pay your city or town.

The…

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2026 Rhode Island Property Tax & Mill Rate Report

Posted by Tim Bray on July 8th, 2026

2026 Property Tax Report · Rhode Island

The list price tells you what a home costs to buy. It says nothing about what it costs to own — and in Rhode Island, that second number swings hard from one town to the next. The same home can cost three times as much to hold depending on which side of a town line it sits on.

$4.79 Lowest rate
(Little Compton) $21.52 Highest rate
(Foster) $12.70 Statewide
median 39 Cities & towns
in this report

The number most buyers never check

Everyone shopping for a home watches the price. Far fewer ask the question that actually sets the monthly payment: what’s the property tax? In Rhode Island, that answer comes from your town’s tax rate —…

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2026 Connecticut Property Tax & Mill Rate Report

Posted by Tim Bray on July 5th, 2026

2026 Property Tax Report · Connecticut

The list price tells you what a home costs to buy. It says nothing about what it costs to own — and in 2026, that second number is where Connecticut buyers get surprised. The same home, one town line apart, can carry a tax bill that differs by well over a thousand dollars a month.

10.85 Lowest rate
(Washington) 68.95 Highest rate
(Hartford) 28.39 Statewide
median 168 Towns in
this report

The number most buyers never check

Everyone shopping for a home watches the price. Far fewer ask the question that actually sets the monthly payment: what’s the property tax? In Connecticut, the answer comes from the town’s mill rate — the dollars…

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Town Meeting Minute™ — Issue #8: The Filter on Future Supply

Posted by Tim Bray on April 12th, 2026

CT & RI Growth Watch — Investor Brief

Town Meeting Minute™ — Issue #8

The Filter on Future Supply

Produced by Seaport Real Estate Services

Before pricing moves, policy and infrastructure determine what is actually possible.

Real estate markets rarely move because of headlines. They move because of zoning changes, infrastructure decisions, development approvals, and environmental constraints that occur quietly at town halls and commission meetings.

This cycle, the clearest message across the shoreline is simple: future supply is not simply coming to market — it is being filtered.

Some towns are reviewing real housing applications. Some are reshaping the rules that govern future projects. Some are dealing with…

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Seaport Multifamily Brief — Issue #4 Two Weeks, Two Stories: Rhode Island Accelerates While Connecticut Pauses

Posted by Tim Bray on April 2nd, 2026

Seaport Multifamily Brief — Issue #4

Two Weeks, Two Stories

Rhode Island Accelerates While Connecticut Pauses

Powered by CoStar Data and Seaport Due Diligence

In just the past two weeks, coastal multifamily activity told two very different stories. While New London and Middlesex Counties remained relatively quiet, Newport and Washington Counties showed noticeably stronger velocity, deeper buyer confidence, and far more visible transaction movement.

Executive Summary

Sometimes the market speaks loudly. Sometimes it whispers. Over this two-week period, Rhode Island’s coastal multifamily markets spoke clearly. Connecticut’s coastal markets, by comparison, were quieter and more cautious.

That does not mean…

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Changing Markets – Issue #5: The Affordability Illusion

Posted by Tim Bray on March 25th, 2026

Changing Markets – Issue #5: The Affordability Illusion

Affordability hasn’t disappeared — it’s been redefined.

If a buyer can make the monthly payment, does that mean the home is truly affordable?

That is the story many people want to believe.

In today’s market, buyers are constantly being told to focus on the monthly number. Lower the rate. Use a buydown. Stretch a little further. Find a way to make the payment work.

But affordability is not defined by whether a buyer can make the payment today. It is defined by whether that payment is sustainable over time, while still leaving enough room to handle the realities of ownership and the pressures of everyday life.

The Gap No One Wants to Look At

Over the past several years, home…

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Are Condominiums A Risky Investment In Todays Market? Updated 5/22/2020

Posted by Tim Bray on May 22nd, 2020

 

I am often being asked if I feel that Condo’s are particularly risky in these trying times. Let me shed some light on the condo market and try to help you make the best decision possible. I will focus on the primary resident condo market as opposed to investment properties in Luxury locations or on the ocean. Condos are built with a specific client in mind. Condo owners are typically first-time homeowners who have good credit, previously were renters, who wish to enter the housing market. They often times use the condo as a stepping stone into the single-family housing arena but can not afford to do so at this time. Or the condo owner enjoys the relatively maintenance-free lifestyle that a condo offers.

The risk in ownership and potential…

2350 Views, 3 Comments