Last night, William Raveis Real Estate, Mortgage & Insurance was awarded 1^st place in Fox News and Hartford Courant’s “Top Workplaces” in Connecticut survey.  William Raveis was the only real estate firm to be nominated amongst nearly 800 Connecticut companies, nonprofits and public agencies.  Awards were based on thousands of employee surveys completed at companies of varying sizes. 

Fox News caught up with Kent Hanley, Executive Vice President of William Raveis Connecticut, at the Awards venue, Aquaturf of Southington.  He discussed why respect and value for employees is vital to William Raveis’ company philosophy.  “As the old saying goes, treat people the way you would want to be treated,” he said.   “I think that really goes a long way.  It’s a core value for a happy family, and we treat our employees as family!”

WorkplaceDynamics LLC, a research firm in Exton, Pennsylvania, conducted surveys on behalf of the Hartford Courant and Fox News.  A total of nearly 800 firms were invited to participate and 12,685 employee surveys were completed.  The survey covered myriad aspects of workplace culture, from employee appreciation to quality of wages and benefits.

“Top Workplaces” is one in a slew of awards William Raveis has been awarded this year alone.   A big highlight for the company was receiving Inman News’ “Most Innovative Brokerage or Franchise” award for William Raveis Agent Dashboard, the first free-to-agent CRM and marketing tool.  Additional accolades include “Best Residential Real Estate Firm,” “Best Mortgage Company,” “Best Insurance Company” all from Banker & Tradesman, placing as a finalist in Boston Business Journal’s “Best Places to Work” survey, and being the only real estate firm to place as a finalist in Fairfield County’s “Top Workplaces” survey. 

A special insert, titled “Getting it Done” will profile William Raveis and other winners in Sunday, September 25^th’s Hartford Courant.

74 Therien Rd, Portsmouth, RI, Rhode Island. 

Lovely and charming waterfront home near Carnegie Abbey! So peaceful and quiet - a true haven away from it all.

Three decks, expansive porch, open living areas, fireplace & woodstove and master bedroom suite w/hot tub! Lots of storage, boat house and mooring!!

Custom woodwork throughout this home makes you feel you are on a boat!

Expansive Views and Gorgeous Sunsets!!

It seems the market in RI is showing some signs of improvement.  While supply is critically high and overall prices will continue to drop in the next 12 to 24 months, price changes, pendings and showing activity is up.  Coupled with this data is the slowdown in new listings.  

I compile data every day on all status changes in the state from the State Wide MLS, www.statewidemls.com.  I count the number of status changes and then average by the number of days in the month.  This data is very helpful in understanding overall trends.  It is not a barometer for your individual neighborhood or price point, but gives us a mile high view of the market and market trends.  

Here's an interesting chart illustrating the number of new listings per day, pendings per day and price changes per day which clearly shows the dramatic rise in price changes per day along with the steady growth of pendings per day.

Please let me know your thoughts and comments.

The local real estate market is staying strong this fall with home sales and pending contracts still above average.  The Rhode Island real estate market saw an increase of single family sales of over 22% for the month of August 2011 versus 2010.

There were 160 total distressed single family sales, an increase of 33% from 2010.  Short sales as a percentage of overall pending sales have been up dramatically over the past couple of years.  Currently 13% of all pending sales in the state of RI are short sales.  This is down from a high of 18% in November 2010.  

An increase in short sales, while obviously not great for a market, is actually much better than the short sale going to foreclosure.  So when short sales increase, and overall pending and sales increase, does this mean that we are inching closer to stability?  It's all about inventory and we have far too much inventory to even hope for stability when looking at the entire state.

However, when you start to look closer at specific price points, neighborhoods and property types, there is reason to think that some areas will start to see a slowdown in price depreciation and perhaps, just perhaps, some price stability in the next 12 months.  

It's important to know your specific market along with the regional trends in order to make the best decisions.  

Our best friends decided earlier this summer to put their house on the market and to move up to a larger home. I referred them to a great realtor in their area.  This agent has a very strong business with over 30 current listings in the area and a strong career of closing sales.  We negotiated the referral fee and I sent over the referral fee agreement.  After 3 weeks, as my friends were preparing their house for the market, I asked again for the referral fee agreement.  "Of course, I'll send it over today.” was the response from the agent.  6 to 8 requests later, over 2 months, and only 2 weeks prior to closing, I gave up and had to contact the agent’s manager.  

About an hour after I sent out the email, I received a call from the agent saying that she had faxed it into our office last week and had a confirmation so I must have received it.  After going back and forth I asked if she could send me the confirmation as I was now concerned that we are not receiving all the faxes that are sent to our office.  Somehow she just didn't think she could fax me the confirmation.  Later that day I received the referral agreement via fax.  Clean as a whistle.

The point here is that even the "best" of agents are not really great.  I can't understand how you can run a successful business and not pay attention to the details.  When I get a referral, I sign and return the agreement the same day; sometimes the paper will be still warm from the fax machine.  I want to lock that referral up as soon as possible - wouldn't you?

As the deal has moved forward, I've been in close contact with my friends and the "issues" they've had with the agent.  

One example is the agent faxed over an extension to mortgage contingency at 4:47 on a Friday saying that my friends need to sign and return by 5:00.  Appraisal was in and all set.  Closing was set for the following Friday.  When my friend called me asking what she should do, my first reaction was what did the mortgage broker state was the issue?  Is there documentation that is missing?  Is there a problem?  The 'top' agent that I referred stated that they didn't know.  How can a listing agent send an extension to a mortgage contingency to their client without knowing why the other side needs this extension?  Isn't this their job?  

Very disappointing.

There are over 100,000 real estate companies nationwide.  1,000 real estate companies entered the contest.  10 real estate companies were nominated.  We won!!!

William Raveis has been recognized by real estate industry leader Inman News as the Most Innovative Brokerage or Franchise in the country for 2011!

William Raveis is the largest family-owned real estate brokerage company in New England, with about 2,000 sales associates, 75 offices and annual sales estimated at $5.5 billion. The company in February announced the launch of Agent Dashboard, a "comprehensive CRM, business management and marketing tool" that is based on CoreLogic's AgentAchieve product.

Quotes from the recent RIAR Association President on the 2nd Quarter statistics for the RI real estate market,

"Sales of single family homes dropped 20 percent compared to the same time period in 2010 and 10 percent from the second quarter of 2009."

 “Still, extremely tight lending standards remain a problem for the housing market. It’s a chain reaction.  If first time home buyers can’t qualify for a home, sales of lower priced homes are delayed.  And, if those homeowners can’t sell their home, they can’t move up to another price bracket,” he said.

I have no idea what he's talking about.  We haven't had one problem with financing in a long time.  Our company has booked or closed over 160 sides this year.  No financing issues that I am aware of, other than appraisal, but even that isn't much of a problem any more. I guess financing is different in different areas of the state?  Really?

Statewide sales of single family homes dropped 20 percent in RI from 2010.  That's accurate.  But overall sales in Providence County dropped 27%, Kent County is down 17%.  Since these two counties are the major population centers, these counties will skew the entire state.  But if you look at the counties individually, it paints a much different story.

Newport County is down only 9% YTD, Bristol County is down only 6% YTD.  Washington County at the end of June had a total of 682 sales.  In 2010 there were 683.  

In order to fully understand a market, you have to look at it from many angles.  Don't believe the negative hype.  

Dear Mr. Chapman,

I have had the extremely good fortune to be working with Erica Sousa. Over the last 30 years, I have had several occasions to work with real estate agents. I have been a tenant, a landlord, a buyer and a seller a number of times. Erica is without question the best agent I have ever worked with. She is a consummate professional. She is patient, understanding and intuitive.

My first intention was to find a place to rent in the Newport area. After Erica showed me several listings, I realized that the best thing for me to do was to purchase a property instead of renting one. She immediately switched gears and within 24 hours had a whole new search ready for showings. We found a condo at 66 Girard Avenue which was perfect for me in every way. Erica worked diligently to get all the aspects of my purchase under control. She is tireless in her being on top of every detail. I hasten to add that she is a lot of fun to be with.

I will highly recommend Erica to anyone I encounter who is looking to rent, buy or sell property. Your agency is definitely blessed to have her on your roster.

Great job Erica! I am so proud to have you on the team!!

298 Rolling Hill Rd, Portsmouth, Rhode Island, RI. THIS CONDO HAS IT ALL! 2 FIREPLACES, DECK, LARGE MASTER SUITE WITH TUB AND SHOWER, LOUNGE WITH WET BAR, FLAT SCREEN T. V & FIREPLACE, SAUNA, OPEN FLOOR PLAN, EAT IN KITCHEN WITH STAINLESS APPLIANCES. 2 CAR GARAGE, GUEST BEDROOM. ALL WITH BAY VIEWS!

Just a gorgeous condo in a great spot.  Congratulations Frank!  You'll be very happy there!

http://arthurchapman.raveis.com/raveis/989647/298__rolling_hill_rd_portsmouth_ri/?AGT=5074&SITE=agt

Recently the RI Association of Realtors came out with their statistics on the state of the market here in Lil Rhody.  The overall sales volume is down significantly in our state and the association and it's President focused on the unfair comparison to last year due to the First Time Buyers Tax Credit program that pushed a lot of demand forward to April/May of 2010.  True, very true, the tax credit did push a lot of demand foward, not only in our state, but in the entire country. 

I heard the President of RIAR on the radio last week explaining this difference in the statistics and also complaining on how hard it is for buyers to get financing in today's market and how the slow down in sales has pushed many agents into getting second jobs. I strongly disagree with this statement and feel this is exactly the PR we DON'T need!! 

In fact, if you peel back the onion a bit, several counties in our state are enjoying year over year INCREASE or STABILIZED numbers in sales volume - not DECREASES!  It's all about where there is JOB CREATION!!

Newport County, RI, encompassing the cities and towns of Newport, Middletown, Portsmouth, Jamestown and Little Compton, RI saw a total of 90 sales in 2010.  2011 had 91.

Bristol County, RI (Barrington, Bristol & Warren, RI) from January 1, 2011 to May 31, 2011 saw a total sales volume of 156 sales - same period in 2010 was 158.

Washington County (Narragansett, North Kingstown, South Kingstown, Exeter, Richmond, Charlestown, Hopkington and Westerly) had 499 sales in the first five months of 2010.  In 2011 we have seen 509.

The real issue is demographics and jobs.  Metropolitan Providence area is not creating jobs, just yet.  We will see significant job creation in Providence next year and the relocation of I-195 will open up significant acreage for development and job creation.  But for now, the major population center in RI is experiencing a reduction in sales volume - thereby increasing supply and depressing prices.  This will continue in this area for a while - 12 to 24 months - at least. 

However, the sales volumes in Newport, Bristol and Washington Counties illustrate how we as professionals need to live by the famous words, "Like politics, all real estate is local".

Moving forward......