Five Questions With: Leslie Hogan

LESLIE HOGAN is an owner of Hogan Associates in Newport, which had two big sales this month. / PBN FILE PHOTO/KATE WHITNEY LUCEY

Leslie Hogan is the principal of Hogan Associates, an independent real estate brokerage in Newport. Through its agent, Holly McLear, the company was involved in two big sales in recent weeks, including the second-highest sale to date this year in Newport, a colonial in the Point neighborhood, as well as a high-selling condominium in a former city school. Hogan spoke to the Providence Business News about the transactions.

PBN: Was the sale of the historical colonial in the Point neighborhood, at 42 Walnut St., a high point for that particular neighborhood? It sold for almost $2 million.

HOGAN: That’s at the high end for that area. [There are] a lot of really attractive 18th- and 19th-century homes in that area. But the houses tend to be quite close together and the yards are small, so they don’t get quite up to those mansion price ranges.

PBN: Does anything in particular distinguish this home?

- Advertisement -

HOGAN: It was completely redone on the inside with a nautical theme. There were really attractive finishes and built-ins. It’s not a huge home. It’s 2,150 square feet. They put in built-in doors, almost like a boat idea. The hardware was somewhat nautical. The woods were teak-like. The storage, in the way that they used the space, was clever.

PBN: There have been many stories in media about climate change and The Point. But it doesn’t seem to be depressing values there. Is it your sense that that neighborhood, however it might be threatened by the sea, is not losing its value?

HOGAN: It’s still pretty attractive. People do tend to check.  There are points that are lower than others on the point. It’s something that most people are aware of, but there have not been many incidents there. It’s rare that people will say, “Oh, I won’t look there.” When you mention the Point, people do still feel warm and fuzzy because it’s so attractive.

PBN: On the condominium sale, at 426 Spring St., do you have any information on that 19th-century school?

HOGAN: It was a city school. It was purchased from the city of Newport in [2005]. People like that whole buying a building with a story. That’s very much the experience of buying a property in Newport. It’s a little bit of a juxtaposition because everyone wants it to be nice and new and fresh inside, but everyone wants it to be an old building with a history. In these old buildings, you can tell from looking at that one from the outside, the ceilings are really high, they’re built really well, as a rule, and they’re reminiscent of your childhood. That’s all part of a nice vibe.

PBN: Are these typically second homes for the buyers?

HOGAN: As a rule, they’re either second homes or many people are buying them with the idea of using them in the summer and renting them in the winter, and then eventually retiring here. They’re sort of planning and when the right thing comes along, they’ll move in.

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

No posts to display