What’s trending amongst buyers in the real estate market? It’s buyers who come in knowing exactly what they want; especially amongst the Millenials. Rooms with a specific purpose are MUST-HAVES especially those of the laundry room, dining room and exercise room “kind”. Thinking of buying a new home? Reach out to me and I will happily send you possibilities that meet all of your “must-have” criteria and then some!!!  Click on the following link to see which speciality rooms are the hot commodities for 2020!

https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2019/12/06/specialty-rooms-are-in-demand-which-rank-highest?AdobeAnalytics=ed_rid%3D4644263%26om_mid%3D1738%7CRealtorMagNews_2019_12_6%26om_nytpe%3DREALTOR%20MAG%20NEWS

What  an honor to have my firm feature my recent service project for City Year as the weekly “Give Back ” blog by MCSIR.  I’m grateful to represent a brokerage that truly values giving back to the city and state in which we “serve ” as Realtors.  For me , every day in real estate is a day in which I can help others and there is nothing I find more rewarding than that.  As a City Year alum , who was part of the very first City Year corps in Providence the year after I finished at Brown , helping others is truly why I am here.

Please click on my video highlight of the day below and the MCSIR feature of the event  Happy Thanksgiving !

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=94GPswkg-uQ

https://www.mottandchace.com/blog/2019/11/22/givebackfridays-city-year/

Staying aware of what is trending in real estate is the best practice for buyers and sellers alike. Knowing what areas are hot, what features buyers are seeking and what is to come in the buying and selling forecast is key information for buyers and sellers everywhere. Keeping my clients “fueled” with an ever-building and always current knowledge base is one of my main priorities in my agent-client relationship.  I’ll share with you 5 trends that are surfacing right now nationwide and ones that are likely to affect our immediate locale.

The first is expensive vs. expansive cities. “Expensive “markets like San Francisco, Seattle, LA, Boston, NY and Miami typically feature geographic borders like oceans or mountains that prevent outward development.  They also typically have rules and norms to limit the development of agricultural land as well as a local land-use policy that tightly caps the addition of new homes in developed areas.  When you combine the limiting geography with the policy you can see why home values in these areas are quickly driven up.

Conversely “expansive” markets like Atlanta, Austin, Phoenix, Dallas and Houston offer plenty of room for new developments on their periphery keeping supply abundant and home values affordable.

The second trend we are seeing is what’s being referred to as the “coming of the silver tsunami”, referencing the ageing out of baby boomers and a resulting uptick in available housing. Retirement communities will feel this effect the greatest yet cities will feel it too.  In the next 20 years over a quarter of the nations currently, owner-occupied homes are likely to hit the market. Obviously this will change the way the housing market looks in the next 20 years.

The third trend is downsizing. Many folks in our local area are quickly seeing the upside of downsizing.  Ageing baby boomers are fueling the demand as many look to downsize to a maintenance-free lifestyle without having to leave their current area and/ or their family and social ties.  For the sellers in our area homes that feature first floor bedrooms, wide entryways, lack of excessive stairs and close proximity to health centers are and will continue to be highly sought after home characteristics.

The fourth trend is first- time home buyers looking for their forever homes. It used to be that first-time homebuyers would look to purchase a first home typically low in their price bracket, close to shops and restaurants and their workplace. Now first-time homebuyers are typically older ( many having waited longer to get married than before) and more established with their careers. Many have been forced to wait to purchase longer than we’ve seen in the past , due to the cost of housing in expensive markets, rising college debt and fewer starter homes.  Many simply have missed the window to starter homes and now are skipping that step and launching right into “forever homes”  Great news for homeowners in the suburbs, ( an area rising Millenials are craving more and more) who offer 3-4 bedrooms and flex spaces which can support the toddler phase up to the teen “hang out “phase. Suburbs located in close proximity to cities or public transit to bigger cities that feature homes that match their “long term living” criteria are extremely attractive to this ever-emerging group of buyers.

Finally, the last trend we are seeing is the emergence of larger investors like institutional investors. What we have seen is the emergence of institutional investors who are not buying just one property as an investment but 2-3 at a time.  This is particularly appealing in cities that offer relatively affordable properties that they can fix up and then rent out. I’ve seen this start to happen in Providence with even individual investors who have me searching out 3-4 properties they can buy as investment properties.

Real estate truly is an ever-emerging, always involving industry and it’s one I simply relish. Keeping abreast of all the local market insights and trends as well as those on a national level enables me to keep my clients on the top of their game whether they are buying or selling or both and THAT is my main objective and my biggest source of reward….. a “victorious” client!!!  Please reach out to me if I can be of any real estate help! I truly love what I do!

Appraisal….One of the “big three” as far as typical contingencies go in the home buying process. An appraisal is the act or process of developing an opinion of value. The valuation is done using a systematic procedure wherein the appraiser derives a market value for the home in question. What influences the derived value? Social, economic, governmental and environmental forces are considered as well as local market conditions such as supply and demand. While factoring these extraneous elements in the appraiser looks closely at property characteristics that might impact the value. The finishes, the condition of the property, the size of the property etc. These property-specific elements are examined and compared to that of competitive properties. Talk to your Realtor about the appraisal process. He or she should be able to support the purchase price via a comparable property analysis thereby ideally limiting potential appraisal issues.

Very interesting and accurate depiction of the mindset and practices of current first time home buyers as seen nationally and as experienced by this RI Realtor. The tendencies of looking online for 6 months before contacting a Realtor, making down payments less than 10 %, putting in sweat equity to up the value of the home and being enticed by low mortgage rates are all witnessed as I engage with first time home buyers on a daily basis. It’s a GREAT time to purchase in RI with interest rates still low, inventory increasing, list to sold prices at 96% ratio and predictions of a solid market forecast encouraging many to pull the buying trigger sooner rather than later.  Take a look deeper into current market practices by the first time home buying subset; many of which are also utilized by veteran buyers as well.  Reach out to me if I can assist you in purchasing and/or selling in my home state of RI. I truly love what I do!

https://www.greensboro.com/life/how-first-time-buyers-are-entering-the-home-market/article_793a6ef8-50fc-50eb-a5cc-228e63bf4993.htmll

Thinking of waiting until 2020 to purchase a new property??? Read the informative article below and gain insight on why buying in 2019 may make the best sense for you and your family! Reach out to me for help!

4-reasons-your-buyer-clients-need-to-purchase-before-2020

It’s been a busy 2nd quarter in my home state of RI! The four upcoming closings I have are indicative of just how hot the market has been. While days on market has been increasing in towns like Barrington,(Average DOM of 96 days), the average list to sold price remains high at 96%. Single-family home sales rose 10% from July 2018 to July 2019 and the median price of those sales increased 6.5% to $297,500 according to a recent report released by the RI Association of Realtors.  These strong numbers reflect the steady market I’ve been experiencing throughout my small home state.  This trend has been seen in my condo sales and my multi-family sales so it is not single-family-specific nor is it town specific. With sales in Smithfield, Richmond, Newport, Barrington, and the East Side I can attest that the market is solid across RI. With interest rates low, unemployment low and consumer confidence still high now is a great time to consider selling and/or buying. Reach out to me please if I can be of any real estate help! Helping my clients is the reason behind the “Huard Hustle” and the accompanying smile every darn day!

Click on the link below to more information regarding single-family home sales in the second quarter and happy fall!

https://www.rirealtors.org/r-i-single-family-home-sales-rise-in-second-quarter/

Click on the link below to gain insight into the July real estate market here in Rhode Island. It was as hot as our above-average temps! It’s been a very busy summer for me listing wise and sale wise and I would love to help you out in any of your upcoming real estate needs! I truly love helping my clients.It is why I am a Realtor!

http://mottandchace.rezora.com/public/6998049?fbclid=IwAR0FL-wkJQoYjYhumwP4r76xFAroWy5qLgD3wY1fzGWtrfZe12Q8dgLSgwo

Click below for the May RI Real Estate Market Report! With list prices up over 3%, sale prices up 9%, inventory up 5% & the number of closed sales up over 9% this Realtor can attest that May was one of solid market activity!

https://indd.adobe.com/view/fb0ea39b-7d88-479e-adf0-c5dc5d381a1c

Spring is here!!!! If you are like me, you are just beginning to look outside your cozy interior to see what “lies” outdoors in regards to your yard, landscape, driveway etc…It is that time of year in New England where after months of being cooped up we are rarin to go on all “outdoors related” cylinders!!! Pumping up the bike tires, putting up the screen doors, washing the car in the driveway, hooking up the hoses…….seeing how many hockey puck dents you have in your shingles….:):)…..All customary “must do” actions when “we” New Englanders get that first sunny, warm, spring-like day.  While we take a look at our exterior conditions we should also take a close look at some interior conditions.  Many items can be addressed rather easily while others may require the help of a service provider. If you live in Rhode Island, most likely I have a name of a supplier that I can offer to you.  As my clients like to say ” Sarah knows just about everyone”:) I am happy to extend any suggestions on “who you should use” to tackle items like plumbing issues, chimney sweeps etc.  Just call me, text or shoot me an email and I’d be happy to help.

With mortgage rates dropping even further last week and with no sign of increasing, home buyers are out in numbers. With consumer confidence high and the spring temps finally arriving, the buying ” temp” right now is high. If you are thinking of selling, now is definitely time to tackle some of these items. Whenever I list a home for a client I look through the interior and exterior of the home with them,  come up with punch lists of items that should be addressed and/or fixed and I offer contacts and solutions for each and every ” issue”. Tackling some of these great homeowner maintenance steps listed in the article highlighted below, may serve to avoid future problems AND you could be addressing issues now that will need to be addressed later should you decide to sell.  I am happy to come by and take a look at your home with you to give you not only a sense of market value but also to provide for you a list of simple fixes/tweaks that will serve to heighten your value AND get your home ready for the market.   I hope you find the article below valuable and as always please reach out to me if you would like my assistance with anything real estate related!

https://siouxcityjournal.com/advertorial/siouxland_homes/your-official-spring-home-walk-through/article_ce8abeb6-8d61-5da8-a77f-df6391d20392.html