Paul A. Leys, co-owner and broker with Gustave White Sotheby’s International Realty, this month took over as the Rhode Island Association of Realtors president. (READ MORE) He spoke with Providence Business News recently about the state of the industry.
PBN: What is the role of association president?
LEYS: RIAR is an association with approximately 4,600 to 4,700 members. The main job of the RIAR president is to serve its membership. That is a pretty broad and general answer, so to be a bit more specific I’ll say that the president serves as the face and the voice of the association during his/her one-year term. Real estate is reported in the news on a daily basis and many times the local and regional press in this area will look to the president for an official response from the association in regard to the story of the day.
On another level, the president is expected to represent the association as one of the voting members of the National Association of Realtor’s Board of Directors. Every fall, there is the NAR annual convention. In the spring, there is an annual mid-year meeting held in Washington, D.C. During the course of this meeting we are able to have a “day-on-the-Hill” to visit our [congressional delegation] to discuss what is important to us in the real estate industry.
The president is also responsible for running the association’s board meetings and executive committee meetings, as well as presiding at many other committee meetings if there is a need for their attendance.
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PBN: Single-family home sales rose during September. Was that a fluke or the beginning of the end of falling sales?
LEYS: I was very happy to see the stats from September come in, as they represented the first time in 13 months that we saw them on the rise. I was also happy to hear Lawrence Yun, chief economist from NAR, mention Rhode Island in a NAR press conference that he held recently, saying that “Rhode Island is on the cusp of a turnaround.” … No, I don’t think it was a fluke and I remain confident that those sales stats will continue to improve.
PBN: You focus on luxury and high-end home sales, including the recent $7.75 million sale of the “Seaweed” estate at Gustave White Sotheby’s International Realty. Is the high-end market still strong in Rhode Island?
LEYS: The luxury-housing market here in Rhode Island is holding steady. By “luxury housing,” I am referring to any property sold above $1 million. … For the past three years, there have been 194, 194 again and 190 annual sales of homes that sold for at least $1 million. This year, to date, we are at 132 already. That is at a pace to reach 160 sales. Yes, this number is lower than 190, but it is almost equal to the 2004 number of 166 sales. If you all recall, 2004 was a pretty good year for real estate sales and we are right in line with that. The coastal communities lead the way when it comes to these luxury sales. Waterfront homes and land are at a premium and will remain that way.
PBN: As we get ready to enter a new year and a new presidential administration, how will the federal bailout affect residential real estate? And what real estate issues are the most important to Rhode Islanders?
LEYS: Obviously with the economy being in the forefront of every conversation going on today, I believe that the economy and how it will affect … real estate dealings is one of the key issues of importance to Rhode Islanders and all Americans. … A key component of this issue is how this government bailout is going to affect us. Is this bailout going to continue helping and aiding the eight or nine biggest banks in America and the AIGs of the world? Or is this astronomical amount of money actually going to succeed in helping Main Street and “Joe the Plumber”? The verdict is still out on that.
The National Association of Realtor’s has a four-point housing-stimulus plan that is being strongly lobbied to Congress as we speak. It includes: making the present $7,500 first-time home-buyer credit available to all buyers and eliminating the payback provision; making the [U.S. Federal Housing Administration], Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits permanent; supporting a temporary short-term government buydown of mortgage rates to 4.5 percent; and it continues to emphasize the importance of keeping banks out of the real estate brokerage business.
In my opinion, [a mortgage-rate buydown] is the most important in order to stimulate this present market to get buyers off the fence.
PBN: Recently, there has been a conversation between NAR and a few media outlets about the benefits of homeowners going the for-sale-by-owner route. What’s your take on the argument that in a down economy someone might want to consider selling their own home?
LEYS: In a down economy, it is … more important to enlist the help of a professional Realtor. First and foremost, pricing is the key and Realtors have all the relative information right at their disposal to give prospective seller’s the correct pricing advice. But above and beyond the pricing argument, there are so many more factors that are of vital importance while selling one’s most important asset. There are several disclosure forms that, by law must be filled out by sellers in every transaction. This can really come back to haunt an unsuspecting seller when out there on their own if, or when, the transaction goes bad. Even if [an owner] happens to find a buyer and enters into a contract, the transaction is far from over, as most think. Proceeding along successfully to a closing after the contract is signed is more than half the battle and a Realtor is trained to do this.
I think my strongest argument when discussing this topic with a potential [owner] seller is the strength of the statewide Multiple Listing Service. Being a Realtor allows you to have the power of the MLS at your disposal. Every listing – except those few that are [for sale by owner] – is on the MLS database with all appropriate info, photos, mapping coordinates, agent contact info, etc. There are more than 4,600 RIAR members that use this on a daily basis while they are out working with their buyers. That technological power will sell more houses than one small classified ad placed by one individual selling their one individual house.
The Rhode Island Association of Realtors has more than 4,600 member Realtors who last year were involved with more than 14,000 transactions totaling more than $4.24 billion. RIAR is one of more than 1,800 local boards and associations of Realtors comprising the nation’s largest trade associations, the National Association of Realtors. For additional information, including a municipal breakdown of the statistics, visit www.riliving.com.
Gustave White Sotheby’s International Realty, established in 1925 as Andrews and White, became a Sotheby’s affiliate in June 2004. A privately owned real estate agency focusing on the high-end residential market, it has a team of 20 sales professionals serving Rhode Island and southeastern Connecticut. For more information, visit www.gustavewhite.com.
