The Family Team

HOME…NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT

thefamilyteam — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 21:56:01 +0000

I had the opportunity of attending a sales seminar from Coldwell Banker just the other day. Part of the seminar dealt with statistics about the current market conditions, where the market has been and has taken us over the last 5 years. Included were predictions about future home buying activities, whether home prices have finally hit their lows, where interest rates may take us over the next several months……etc. Kind of the same stuff I report in this newsletter and in our blog at www.thefamilyteam.com. In the midst of all of these numbers was a speaker, David Marine, who is the Senior Director of Consumer Engagement at Coldwell Banker, who took things into a completely different direction and put things into a different perspective. He reminded us, that we in the residential real estate business need to get back to basics and that we are not selling houses…..we are selling homes and lifestyles.

That made me think quite a bit about how most of us in the business are currently servicing our buyers. Maybe it is because we have had to deal with such difficult situations over the last few years and that as we see light at the end of the tunnel we are just so eager to spread the good news about interest rates, low prices, availability of excellent mortgage programs that we have forgotten what we really do. Think about it….from a buyer’s perspective today, market conditions have rarely been better. Home affordability is at record levels. In 98% of the major metro markets it is now less expensive to buy a home rather than rent. THE STATISTICS ARE AWESOME! However, the consumer is still reluctant to take action. Why is that? Is it because many are still shell shocked at what happened over the last several years? Sure that is part of it. Are they afraid to make a mistake? That too is part of it. However, maybe the real reason for the hesitancy is that we in the industry have done nothing but spew “statistical diarrhea”, which in the best of all cases is looked at suspiciously by the consumer and in many cases self-serving.

This speaker at this seminar made me realize that families do not buy homes with a mathematical formula. Yes the numbers have to work….that is a given. But they make the decision to buy a home with their hearts. They don’t just buy bricks and mortar. Instead they are buying the memories that can and will be made in their new family home. They buy the future memories of tucking their children into bed…..the picnics in the back yard….watching their children playing on the swing set…. the tender moments of a couple holding hands in front of the fireplace. What they really want to buy is the comfort of those memories yet to be made.

So, speaking for myself and I know the rest of The Family Team who attended this seminar, we say thanks to David Marine for helping to “’crystalize our thinking” and making us realize exactly what we really do. Just as your family doctor is not about pills and remedies alone, it is about the overall care that he provides that gives you that comfort of his or her care. The Family Team will always have to look at the numbers….that is part of the JOB, but why our clients buy homes will always be the goals of our PROFESSION.

Tagged: coldwell banker, david marine, family team, foreclosure, real estate, rhode island, rhode island real estate, riliving, short sale, washington county, westerly, westerly living

Washington County Foreclosure & Short Sale Listings 3/25/2012

thefamilyteam — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 13:42:27 +0000

Tagged: family team, foreclosure, gil bricault, real estate, rhode island real estate, short sale, washington county, westerly

Washington County Foreclosure & Short Sale Listings

thefamilyteam — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:51:58 +0000

401-573-8727

FORECLOSURES

Town

Address

List Price

CHAR	26 OLD SHANNOCK RD	179,900
HOPK	15 MELINDA’S WY	399,900
HOPK	60 MAIN ST	175,000
HOPK	46 LAUREL ST	99,900
HOPK	21 OAK ST	77,100
HOPK	98 SPRING ST	79,900
NARR	36 LAKEVIEW DR	174,900
NKNG	69 SEABREEZE DR	294,900
NKNG	110 POTTER RD	209,900
NKNG	36 FINN ST	114,900
RICH	4 CUL DE SAC DR	169,900
RICH	21 RED OAK DR	149,900
RICH	99 WOODVILLE RD	209,900
RICH	105 WOODVILLE RD	159,900
RICH	27 SUNSET DR	314,900
RICH	5 WOOD RIVER CIR	207,900
WEST	12 BRANCH ST	199,900
WEST	21 BELLEVUE AV	219,900
WEST	7 DAVID AV	269,900
WEST	398 WESTERLY BRADFORD RD	69,000
WEST	40 GROVE AV	224,900
WEST	4 SOSOA LANE	569,000
WEST	7 PENNY CT	135,000

SHORT SALES

CHAR	377 CHARLESTOWN BEACH RD	495,000
CHAR	40 COLUMBIA HEIGHTS OVAL .	179,900
CHAR	194 BUCKEYE BROOK RD	289,000
HOPK	178 DIAMOND HILL RD	235,000
HOPK	262 NORTH RD	194,900
HOPK	2 PINE CIR	299,900
HOPK	20 CROWTHERS PL	499,000
HOPK	71 HIGH ST	225,000
HOPK	222 MAIN ST	86,000
HOPK	178 ASHAWAY RD	179,900
NARR	15 BUTTONBUSH TRL	249,000
NKNG	141 CHADSEY RD	229,900
NKNG	1431 BOSTON NECK RD	359,000
NKNG	62 HIGHBANK AV	121,000
NKNG	80 FOREST PARK DR	169,900
NKNG	110 EWING RD	179,900
NKNG	39 NARRAGANSETT ST	410,000
NKNG	5 ADELINE DR	205,000
NKNG	51 HIMES ST	185,000
NKNG	22 HIGHLAND RD	365,000
NKNG	20 PONTE LANE	199,900
NKNG	51 THOMAS ANTHONY RD	259,900
NKNG	19 SHADY LEA RD	197,500
RICH	7 WATSON DR	224,900
RICH	27 SHADOW RIDGE DR	499,900
RICH	28 FIRST AV	179,000
RICH	1152 MAIN ST	149,000
RICH	9 PLEASANT ST	115,000
RICH	3 MORNING RD	265,000
RICH	347 NOOSENECK HILL RD	175,000
RICH	27 RIVERVIEW DR	159,000
RICH	79 PINE HILL DR	219,900
WEST	16 GEORGE ST	239,800
WEST	2 MEMORY LANE	179,000
WEST	169 CHURCH ST	165,000
WEST	75 BEACH ST	237,000
WEST	113 WOODY HILL RD	199,000
WEST	7 SLEEPY HOLLOW CT	169,000
WEST	35 SHERWOOD DR	315,200

Tagged: family team, foreclosure, real estate, rhode island real estate, short sale, westerly, westerly living

MARKETS SHOWING SOME STABILITY

thefamilyteam — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:31:00 +0000

A close look at our market condition is beginning to show signs of some stability in our market. A better employment picture and stability in prices in non-distressed sales is very good news for our skittish markets. Also contributing to this level of stability has been the “slow down” in the number of properties coming into foreclosure, the seeming ability of banks to speed up the “short-sale” and foreclosure sale process and a “dichotomy” in the types of buyers in the marketplace.

Regarding the short sale process, we have seen a marked improvement in the short sale process with banks being not only more efficient in the process but with a greater enthusiasm on their part to speed up the process. Some of this is also due to Realtors gaining more experience in the process and of being able to get the required information to the financial institutions in a timely manner. We are also seeing the same in the handling of foreclosure re-sales. Part of the reason for these may be a sense of what is expected in 2012, where we are all expecting a large upsurge in foreclosed properties on the market and a desire to kind of “thin the herd” of existing properties. As said, we really expect a large increase in foreclosure activity beginning in 2012. The issues plaguing the banks such as robo-signing, improper foreclosures, etc. literally shut down the system and has literally allowed homeowners months and even years behind in their mortgage payments to stay in their homes and avoid foreclosure. Well, those days are numbered, the issues have been mostly addressed and the banks are ready to begin the process of foreclosing on these properties and getting them to market. The only saving grace is that the process is still a long one, particularly in judicial states, and the banks do not really want to create a glut on the market even further depressing average sales prices.

The dichotomy we speak of is that we are seeing a real division in the types of buyers out in the market. I think there were a lot of what I will call “regular buyers” looking for a home and a place to raise their families really thought that a foreclosure or a short sale would be the pathway to their dreams. They have found, however, that the process is still very long and often uncertain and these types of buyers have decided that the best way to find a home may be in a conventional, non-distressed situation where a home has been maintained and has not suffered the physical stress that is often found in foreclosed and short sale homes, particularly with foreclosures.

What does all this mean? Well, we think 2012 will continue to be a challenging year where there will be many “opportunities” for the investment buyer looking to purchase good deals on the foreclosure and short sale markets. There will be super deals if that is what you are looking for. On the other hand, we think the non-distressed market, although receiving some downward pressures from additional foreclosures, will remain rather stable. Once we start seeing the “end of the tunnel” with foreclosure and a hopeful continuation in our employment numbers we hope to see more confidence with buyers….particularly first-time buyers.

Whatever your real estate needs and goals are, please contact The Family Team for all your real estate needs……EXPERIENCE ALWAYS COUNTS…….BUT IT COUNTS MORE NOW!

by Gilbert P. Bricault, CRB