Boats and waterfront property are a natural fit. So if buyers of one often like the other, why not sell both from the same location, said Allen Gammons, broker/ owner of Prudential Gammons Realty based in East Greenwich.
About six months ago he decided to open a real estate office and a yacht brokerage firm in the same space on Main Street in Wickford. It’s a location with lots of foot traffic, near lots of waterfront property.
“I thought the two businesses would work well together,” said Gammons, a boater himself and a former waterfront property owner. “If you look at our inventory of waterfront property, it’s very diverse,” he said. “Yet very few are focusing on that niche market. … We have a very high percentage of the market share in that portion of the business.”
The venture became fully staffed with nine brokers in January. Though still in its infancy, Gammons thinks the joining of two separate but related businesses has shown potential.
Gammons partnered with Tom Thomas to relocate Gammons Thomas Yacht Brokerage to the Wickford location. It previously had been operating in Jamestown, he said.
Gammons also hired Ned Murtha in December to spearhead a waterfront-property marketing group in Wickford, though not all of the brokers are focusing on waterfront. Murtha came from Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in East Greenwich.
“I pursued him because he was trying to build his business with a similar focus,” Gammons said. “His business philosophy was very similar to mine.”
Murtha said he has been specializing in waterfront property for five years, and he’s been involved in yachting and sailing his whole life.
He likes to show waterfront property by taking clients on a small boat and approaching the property from the water first, he said, adding that he also tells them exactly what they can expect in certain locations because he is well-educated about the Bay.
Though people don’t often purchase a boat and property at the same time, Murtha thinks pairing the two businesses is a good idea because some people buy a waterfront home first and then decide to get a boat, while others keep their boat in Rhode Island and might decide to purchase a weekend home with a dock.
Being located in Wickford is another reason Murtha decided to take the position, he said, because the North Kingstown village has a natural, historic nautical cache that appeals to clients who might be visiting from out of state.
Paul Leys, broker/owner of Newport-based and president-elect of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors, said he knows of no other realty firms in the state operating in the same space with yacht brokerages.
“It certainly sounds like a unique idea,” he said. “We know there is a correlation between [a waterfront] owner and boats. … It’s a smart move on his part.”
As for the waterfront property market itself, Leys said it is still one of the busiest markets in the state. There are 178 waterfront properties listed on the Rhode Island State-Wide Multiple Listing Service, which is about 3 percent of the more than 5,000 real estate listings on the site.
And the prices range from about $300,000 to $12 million, Leys said.
“It’s actually a pretty equal playing field right now,” he added. “It’s a good time right now for buyers and sellers.”
Leys said sellers have to realize they aren’t going to get what they might have when the market peaked in 2005, but buyers will get a good deal because the interest rates are at a historic low.
“The real estate market is not as bad as it’s been perceived in the media,” he said, adding that the economy certainly doesn’t affect the high-end waterfront buyer.
Gammons echoed Leys in saying there is always demand for waterfront property.
Murtha thinks the interest in waterfront has actually heightened since the overall market bottomed out: “Now, people are beginning to believe that waterfront property might actually be affordable.” •
