Making the most of Ocean State

Rhode Island’s appeal to the high-end homebuyer is not difficult to understand – the Ocean State’s 400 miles of seacoast take care of the “location, location, location” mantra in a most effective way. And the top residential sales of 2015 reflect that fact.

Nine of the 10 most expensive home sales of last year were scattered along the coast, from Westerly through Newport County. The number of high-end homes sold in 2015 continued the upward trend started in 2012 after the Great Recession knocked the wind out of home sales from 2008-2011, with 184 residences selling for more than $1 million, compared with 176 in 2014 and 148 in 2013.

Yet, the year didn’t start out like gangbusters. Many agents found themselves frozen, unable to show homes due to inclement, winter weather that immobilized business for much of the start of the year, forcing a shorter sales window than usual.

“In January, February and March of last year we were in an ice age,” said John Hodnett, principal broker/owner of Lila Delman Real Estate. “A lot of people were literally frozen, because every weekend there was a blizzard. [But] once April came, people were ready for a summer home, a beach and water,” said Hodnett.

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The freeze affected the million-dollar market in particular, because many high-end buyers are looking for vacation or second homes, and the bulk of high-end buyers live out of state, making the transaction a discretionary purchase. Plus, the sums involved add another layer of complexity – where does the luxury homebuyer want to be?

“Every transaction is a big transaction, but as you get up into that level, these are transactions that don’t have to happen,” said Hodnett. “Often people in that price range have a lot more choices.”

So what brings high-end buyers to Rhode Island? “Location, location, location,” said Arthur Yatsko, president of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors. Rhode Island is becoming a more robust market because of its proximity to major cities, without the inconvenience of traveling to and from an island – and for a better bargain.

“Anything that sells in Rhode Island pales in price-point comparison with other areas,” said Melanie Delman, president of Lila Delman Real Estate. “Rhode Island is special because you can get to Boston and New York without the hassle of getting on a plane, but you still feel like you’re on an island.”

While some high-end buyers search for a historical project home, many are looking for turnkey, luxury living. Million-dollar buyers look for “a knockout kitchen, open space, high ceilings and lots of light coming in, and a master suite on the lower level. People want quality elements of marble and stone, and beautiful woods. There is a lot of money being invested in style,” said Raymond Mott, broker and co-founder of Mott & Chace Sotheby’s International Realty.

Delman said her goal is to put the Ocean State on the map, and she is using social media to aid the effort. Lila Delman Real Estate was the seller’s broker in five of the top 10 sales of 2015 and has almost 6,000 followers on the photo app Instagram, which has led to receiving calls from people out of state.

“A picture is worth a thousand words, and we’re going back to that. The visuals are important to us,” said Delman.

But her goal is to make Rhode Island real estate more than just one-off transactions. “Most people know Newport, but they don’t know Rhode Island. I’m hoping we say ‘Rhode Island’ one day and people know what we’re talking about.”

In Mott’s eyes, that shouldn’t be too difficult, given the state’s natural advantages.

“Many of the buyers want a piece of coastal, New England-style living,” he said. “What is more cool than that?”n

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