Five Questions With:
Dean deTonnancourt

Dean deTonnancourt, of HomeSmart Professionals Real Estate win Warwick, has been named the new president of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors. President and CEO of HomeSmart Professionals, deTonnancourt entered the real estate profession 30 years ago. He spoke to the Providence Business News this week about current market conditions.

PBN: Tell us a little about your background in real estate.

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DETONNANCOURT: I’ve been in real estate now for 30 years. I’ve been at every level of the profession, from sales associate to being a broker-manager, as well as business owner. I’m an educator for the state, as well as local associations.

PBN: When did you start your own business and why did you want to get into that?

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DETONNANCOURT: I started my own business in 2000, bringing Keller Williams Realty to the state of Rhode Island. I left five years ago and am now the owner of HomeSmart Professionals. I wanted to change my focus, from that of only working with the consumer, to helping agents. I’ve enjoyed different levels of success in the sales avenue of real estate. What I really enjoy is helping agents reach that same level of success.

PBN: What do you foresee in 2019 for single-family home sales? The price increases this year have moderated.

DETONNANCOURT: It’s only a 3 percent gain, year over year. The market is finally stabilizing. Once again, the lack of inventory caused an inherent demand in the marketplace. Average days on market were down to 60 days on market, at one point. We still have less than a [four-month] supply in Rhode Island, of inventory. [Six-month] supply is where you turn to a buyer’s market. The interest rates are ticking up. You’re going to see them rise to the high 5s by the end of the year, possibly. It’s a balanced market. The balanced market is going to give buyers more opportunities.

PBN: In terms of multifamily sales, what is happening? Seems to have increased steadily.

DETONNANCOURT: It’s increasing because when you look at the increase in rents … multifamily properties have more of a return. Investors are taking advantage of that market.

PBN: In the condo market, what is happening there?

DETONNANCOURT: Condos continue to do well also. The increase is up a little bit on the condo market. Ultimately, the sales are up, when you look at the number of sales. The median price dropped just a little bit. Our market overall is underneath [four-month] inventory.

Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at macdonald@pbn.com.