This well-maintained Cape is on Waverly Road. Sixteen of the 25 houses for sale in Primrose Hill last week were priced under $400,000.

The Providence Journal / Frieda Squires

Barrington’s development as a suburban bedroom community was in full flower in the 1950s and 1960s, a period when many of the town’s public schools were built or expanded.

Most of the houses in Primrose Hill, a neighborhood centered on the Primrose Hill School on Middle Highway, were built during this post-World War II era. Sixteen of the 25 houses listed for sale in Primrose Hill last week were built in the middle of the last century.

This established neighborhood is well populated with mature trees, and except for the primary roads, it is not heavily trafficked.

Because it is located north of the busy “in-town” commercial area of Barrington, where Route 114 traffic can get jammed, Primrose Hill offers a relatively short commute to Providence.

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In recent years, some of the older houses in Primrose Hill have been torn down to make way for new, larger homes.

Robert Speaker, Barrington’s building inspector, said there have not been many teardowns in the neighborhood, but the practice has been more common since 2000, due in part to the scarcity of land in town available for new housing. “Ten years ago, it was easier to find lots” in town, he said.

The pace of new construction has cooled in the housing slump, but even today, there are several new houses under construction in Primrose Hill.

Builder Michael West is building a new Colonial on spec on Sherwood Lane. West said he tore down the house that was on the lot when he bought the property earlier this year.

“That’s what’s been happening to this neighborhood,” West said. “Three-bedroom ranches and Capes are becoming four-bedroom Colonials.… You’re [also] seeing a lot of [newly added] second floors.”

Barrington was one of the few communities in Rhode Island to see an increase in the median house price last year; the 2007 median price was $433,500, a jump of 3.63 percent from the 2006 level, $418,300.

Sixteen of the 25 houses for sale in Primrose Hill last week were priced under $400,000.

Single-family house prices in Primrose Hill started last week at $199,900, for a 1950 Cape at 7 Vineland Drive with 4 bedrooms, 1 bathroom and 1,296 square feet of living space. The highest price of houses listed for sale in the neighborhood was $699,900, for a 1990 Colonial at 7 St. Andrews Way with 4 bed-rooms, 4 bathrooms and 6,460 square feet of space.

POPULATION:

(Barrington, 2000) 16,891

MEDIAN HOUSE PRICE:

(Barrington, 2007) $433,500

INTERESTING FACT:

From 1920 to 1970, Barrington’s population increased by a factor of 4.75, according to a history of the town written by Ken Mason.

cdunn@projo.com