In the Rhode Island Association of Realtors' August 2026 town-by-town table, Barrington's single-family median was $1,298,375. In August 2025 it was $800,000, so the gain was 62.30%. Barrington had 30 single-family sales that month, up from 25 a year earlier. If you're comparing Barrington, Bristol, and Warren this fall, you've probably seen that figure, or the county version: Bristol County's median rose 20% to $810,000 while closings rose 46.51%, from 43 to 63.
Barrington homes did not gain 62% in value over twelve months. A monthly median in a town this size records which houses closed in a given 31-day window. In August 2026, the houses that closed in Barrington skewed toward the top of the market. Once you see that, every Bristol County number reads differently.
Thirty Sales, Two Very Different Middles
The previous month makes the point. In July 2026, Barrington also had 30 single-family sales, and the median was $875,500. In June 2026, it had 25 sales at a median of $890,000. The number of sales was the same in July and August. The median moved by more than $420,000.
With 30 sales, the median is the average of the 15th and 16th prices when the sales are lined up from lowest to highest. So at least 15 of August's closings were at or above $1,298,375. In July, at least 15 of the 30 were at or below $875,500. Same town, same number of sales, and in a single month the middle of the list moved from the high $800,000s to roughly $1.3 million. That is a change in the mix of sales. Houses on the same streets did not reprice that much in thirty days.
Compared year over year, June and July tell a calmer story. Barrington's June median was 18.51% above June 2025's $751,000. July's was 11.46% above July 2025's $785,500. Those are still strong gains, but they are a different kind of number from 62%.
Adding the three summer months together gives each town a much steadier picture:
| Town | June 2026 | July 2026 | August 2026 | Total sales, June to August 2026 | Total sales, June to August 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barrington | 25 sales, $890,000 | 30 sales, $875,500 | 30 sales, $1,298,375 | 85 | 78 |
| Bristol | 31 sales, $635,000 | 8 sales, $665,000 | 25 sales, $670,000 | 64 | 50 |
| Warren | 8 sales, $557,500 | 5 sales, $689,000 | 8 sales, $624,500 | 21 | 21 |
Across the three towns, summer 2026 had 170 single-family closings, compared with 149 in summer 2025. That's a real increase, about 14%, spread over three months. It is far smaller than the 46.51% county jump reported for August alone.
One Week of Barrington Deeds
To see how a month fills up, look at the Warren Group's weekly transaction list in The Providence Journal for the week of Aug. 15, 2026. Its Barrington sales of $500,000 or more, by street:
- Alfred Drown Road, $2,300,000, dated Aug. 3
- Highland Avenue, $2,273,000, dated July 30
- Preston Drive, $1,550,000, dated Aug. 3, sold by a construction company
- Meadowbrook Drive, $1,405,000, dated Aug. 3
- Second Street, $1,100,000, dated July 29
- Maple Avenue, $950,000, dated Aug. 4
- Sowams Road, $676,000, dated Aug. 3
This is a partial list of recorded deeds, and it doesn't line up one-to-one with the Realtors' monthly count. Still, it shows the mechanics. Of the five Barrington entries dated in August, three were above $1.3 million. One of those was a builder's sale, the kind of newly built house that sells at the top of a town's range. A $2,273,000 sale on Highland Avenue was dated July 30. A few days later, it would have counted toward August instead of July.
In a 30-sale month, the calendar and the type of house that closes can move a median further than any change in what buyers will pay.
Bristol's $4.3 Million Sale Barely Moved Its Median
That same week's list featured a Bristol home on Courageous Circle that sold for $4,300,000, a three-bedroom house of 3,548 square feet on a 3.67-acre lot. Among the week's statewide highlights, only a Little Compton sale was higher. The same list shows a Ferry Road sale in Bristol at $2,300,000. Bristol's August single-family median was still $670,000.
That is the flip side of the Barrington story. A median doesn't register how far above the middle the top sale lands. It shifts only when enough sales fall on one side of the middle. One sale at $4.3 million counts the same as one at $700,001. Barrington's median jumped because about half of its August sales were high-end homes. Bristol's held steady because its high-end sales were a few closings among 25.
The bigger Bristol distortion is in the sales count. In August 2026, Bristol closings rose 108.33% to 25 from 12. In July, they fell 68% to 8 from 25. June was up 138.46%, with 31 sales against 13. Viewed separately, the three months look like a boom, a collapse, and another boom. Added together, they come to 64 sales against 50, a 28% increase. That matters, but it has none of the drama of the monthly headlines. Bristol's median stayed between $635,000 and $670,000 all summer.
Bristol's days on market moved around too: 31 in June, 14 in July, and 36 in August 2026, compared with 25 in August 2025. With only eight sales in July, the 14-day figure reflects a handful of quick deals. August's 36 days, across 25 sales, is the more meaningful sign that some Bristol homes took longer to sell late in the summer.
Warren Runs on a Handful of Sales a Month
Warren takes the small-sample problem furthest. August 2026's median of $624,500 was 35.76% above August 2025's $460,000. Both months had fewer than ten single-family closings, with 8 sales in August 2026 and 6 a year earlier. When there are only a few sales, a single closing above or below the middle can change the median by tens of thousands of dollars. The $460,000 baseline also sits well below Warren's June and July 2025 medians of $560,500 and $620,000, which makes the year-over-year jump look bigger.
Across the summer, Warren's medians were $557,500, $689,000, and $624,500 on 8, 5, and 8 sales. Its three-month total of 21 matched summer 2025 exactly. Days on market tell more here. August 2026 averaged 20 days, down from 35 a year earlier. In a town with this few sales, how quickly homes go under contract says more about competition than the midpoint price does.
The Statewide Market Behind the Town Numbers
The town tables sit inside a statewide market that is cooling slowly. Rhode Island's August 2026 single-family median was $544,000, up 6.67% from August 2025. Closings fell to 741 from 779, according to the August single-family town table. That works out to a 4.88% drop. The association's September 17 press release reported a 3.4% decline in sales, so the two documents don't fully agree.
The same release puts Rhode Island's single-family supply at 2.8 months, meaning that's how long current listings would take to sell if nothing new came on the market. It compares that with 4.9 months nationally for single-family homes, condominiums, and townhomes. In that release, association president Michael Pereira said, "Multiple offers over asking are definitely moderating but affordability remains the biggest block to our housing recovery." The release also noted that the Federal Reserve had raised its benchmark rate the day before, its first increase since 2023.
Statewide supply is tight and offers are softening, while the East Bay saw a summer of modestly higher sales. Those conditions fit the steady three-month figures much better than a single month showing Barrington up 62%, Bristol up 108%, and Warren up 36%. As of October 12, 2026, the association's newest market release covers August. September's town figures haven't been posted yet.
Quick Answers
Did Barrington home values rise 62% in a year? No. August 2026's median reflects a month when about half of Barrington's 30 closings were at or above roughly $1.3 million. Barrington's June and July 2026 medians were 18.51% and 11.46% above the same months in 2025.
Which number best compares the three towns? Three-month sales totals and days on market. From June through August 2026, Barrington had 85 single-family sales, Bristol 64, and Warren 21. Each town's monthly median moved more on the mix of homes that closed than on any change in pricing.
Where do these figures come from? The town tables are published monthly by the Rhode Island Association of Realtors on its sales statistics pages. Weekly deed lists compiled by the Warren Group appear in The Providence Journal.
If you're weighing Barrington against Bristol or Warren and want to know what the numbers say about the street you're considering, Hillary Olinger can go through recent closings with you sale by sale, so your offer is based on comparable homes and not a single month's median. Let's Connect.
