Jean and Donald Reefe, of Farmington, Conn., recently moved into a condominium at the Residences at Brown & Howard Wharf in Newport that they bought for $1.875 million. “Newport still represents a good value for the dollar,” Jean Reefe says. The Providence Journal / Frieda Squires

While many are feeling the pinch of high oil prices and the credit crunch, the rich do not seem to be pinching pennies, at least as far as the high-end condominium market in Rhode Island is concerned.

A new condo complex on the harbor in Newport, the Residences at Brown & Howard Wharf, went on the market last month. Already, 6 of the 16 units have been sold or are under contract, at prices ranging as high as $3.6 million, which is likely a record for a Rhode Island condo.

Although the Brown & Howard prices are exceptional, they are in keeping with a trend in the Rhode Island housing market. While the median price of single-family houses has dropped more than 10 percent statewide in the last year, the median price for condos has held steady statewide and even climbed in some high-end markets, such as Providence’s East Side, where prices rose 6.6 percent.

What motivates the buyers of such pricey digs during economic uncertainty?

“Real estate is always a good investment if you treat it properly,” said Jean M. Reefe. “You have to have faith and move forward.”

Reefe and her husband, Donald D. Reefe, a retired commercial property manager for the Hartford Insurance Group, last month bought the first unit sold at Brown & Howard. Their two-bedroom, 2,800-square-foot condo closed at $1.875 million.

“Newport still represents a good value for the dollar. Anyone who grew up in New England knows this is the place to be,” said Jean Reefe. “It was a little bit of a slam dunk.”

Her husband predicted a quick end to what some see as a recession.

“It’s really almost a form of economic gridlock,” he said. “I really think a lot of this is self-induced.” He said the media tend to place too great an emphasis on bad economic news, which makes people think twice before spending money. “Unfortunately, when you’re being cautious, it trickles down, and being cautious means someone doesn’t have a job.”

The Reefes, who are in their 60s and call Farmington, Conn., home, already had a summer house in Newport. They are now selling that and have moved into the Brown & Howard property. Their new place features an open floor plan with a study, living room, kitchen, dining room and den that are now separated by walls. The master bedroom and guest bedroom each have their own bathrooms, and the condo has a half bath near the front entry, too. They have four balconies. Three are 4 feet wide, their narrow mahogany decks meant to evoke the ambience of a yacht. The fourth balcony is 6 feet wide and 20 feet long.

The larger balcony faces a public access to the harbor.

“In the morning, it’s nice just to have a cup of coffee out there,” said Donald Reefe, “and, in the evening, it’s nice to sit out there and just see ... young families pushing their strollers and enjoying the evening after dinner.”

“We do like the public aspect of it,” his wife agreed, “not being secluded here, and being able to see everyone from Newport enjoying what we’re enjoying here.”

While high-end condos typically sell as “gray boxes” — empty shells that buyers finish themselves — or as a collaboration between the developer and buyer as to what the interior will look like, the Reefes got a little extra for their $1.875 million. Their unit had been the model for the development, so it came fully furnished, following a design by Carol Swift of Swift Morris Interiors.

“Too many designers, you see it, and you know it, and it’s something somebody else could’ve done almost anywhere. But I think Carol brought a signature to this place that, really, it’s different; it looks more like an individual did it for themselves,” said Donald Reefe. “We literally fell in love with the place.”

Falling in love in Newport is familiar to the Reefes. They met there in 1968 at a Salve Regina University mixer, when he attended the Navy’s Officer Candidate School. After three or four dates, he headed to California for more training and then to the Navy’s base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. From there, he said, he proposed on the phone.

“He was a ham radio operator for the base in Gitmo,” his wife corrected. “Actually, there were no phones. It was, you know, ‘I love you. Over. Will you marry me? Over.’ ”

This December, they will celebrate their 40th anniversary, and the condo was something of a mutual anniversary present.

Two other units at Brown & Howard have already closed.

A $3.6-million penthouse was bought by a fund manager from New Jersey, who already had a second home in Newport. A smaller penthouse, priced at $2.6 million, was bought as a primary residence by a chemist who had lived in Bristol. Stacie E. Mills, sales and marketing vice president for Stonestreet Corporation, which owns the project, declined to identify the buyers and said those transactions were structured to protect their identities.

Three units are under contract, at prices of $2.4 million, $2.5 million and $3.2 million, Mills said.

Stonestreet is a privately held Providence corporation headed by Timothy G. Fay, president, and David N. Patrick, vice president. It took over the Brown & Howard project from a group led by Providence developer Joseph R. Paolino Jr.

pparker@projo.com