The median sales price for single-family houses in Rhode Island dropped about 20 percent in November from the same month a year ago, according to two measures of real-estate transactions announced yesterday.

The Rhode Island Association of Realtors, which tracks sales made through its State-Wide Multiple Listing Service, reported that the median sales price dropped 24 percent from November 2007 to November 2008. That reflects prices falling from $265,000 a year ago to $202,000 now.

The Warren Group, a Boston-based consulting firm whose broader measure includes sales by owners as well as Realtor-brokered sales, recorded a 20-percent drop, from $255,000 to $205,000.

Both firms also reported that the number of single-family houses sold fell in November after having gained in October.

According to the Warren Group, sales dropped 21 percent, from 573 a year ago to 452 now. That followed an 11-percent increase in October from the previous year.

The Realtors reported a 16-percent drop in November, from 542 to 455. That followed a 15-percent increase in October, from 540 to 621.

“November is the sixth consecutive month that median home prices in Rhode Island have been off by double-digit percentages,” Timothy Warren Jr., of the Warren Group, said in a statement. “Homeowners are being pushed to lower asking prices as buyers, shaken by stock market woes and unemployment growth, hold back on making major purchases. Home prices won’t recover until consumer confidence picks up and sales climb for several months.”

But the Realtors, who have a direct stake in house sales, were more optimistic about the long-term trend. “I think this is just a blip in the trend of increased sales that we were seeing in September and October,” association president Paul Leys said in a statement.

Leys agreed with Warren about the economic forces at work. “It appears that the faltering national economy in early fall, along with Rhode Island’s dubious distinction of having the highest unemployment rate in the country, was wreaking havoc on the housing market in November,” he said. “Consumer confidence is at an all-time low and people are afraid to commit.”

But Leys cited data that suggest an upward trend. Preliminary information for December shows an increase in single-family house sales, he said. And pending sales in November rose 20 percent over the previous year, from 747 to 893, while inventory decreased 8 percent, from 6,100 to 5,586.

Providence, Smithfield and West Warwick reported declines of more than 30 percent in median sales prices, according to the Warren Group, while Narragansett saw an increase of just over 20 percent. (The Realtors did not report town-by-town data.)

Condominium sales figures were similar to the single-family house numbers, according to both firms.

The Realtors reported that median sales prices of condos dropped 9 percent, from $217,250 to $198,000, while the number of sales was down 55 percent, from 148 to 67.

By the Warren Group’s measure, the median price for condos fell 13 percent, from $216,000 to $188,350, while sales dropped 41 percent, from 181 to 106.

pparker@projo.com