Rebecca Mayer joined the Compass real estate team in Providence in 2022 after spending 25 years as an associate broker at Residential Properties Ltd., where she was a multimillion-dollar producer and earned the Greater Providence Board of Realtors Circle of Sales Excellence Platinum Plus award from 2017 through 2021.
Mayer, a Providence resident who obtained her broker’s license in 1990 and became a certified residential appraiser in 1992, also founded the Providence-based Real Estate Collaborative while at Residential Properties in 2006 and served as its principal broker.
PBN: You recently landed at Compass, after spending 25 years as an associate broker for a competing firm. What has this change been like for you and how’s the new job going so far?
MAYER: I am very happy to have made the change! I’m surrounded by agents who are excited about building their unified market presence in Greater Providence, which has led to a tremendously supportive work environment, as we all work together to be successful. The result has been very positive – we’re working more as a unit and less as a bunch of independent agents accustomed to competing with one another.
PBN: What’s the Providence real estate market like in 2023 so far? How do you see it changing moving forward this year?
MAYER: I don’t think any of us thought that local inventory levels would continue to decline after such historic lows. But that’s what we’ve seen thus far.
Whether sizing up or sizing down, there’s a lot of prospective sellers sitting on the sidelines due to the low supply of inventory for them to choose from, coupled with valid concerns about trading in their low interest rate mortgage for one with a considerably higher rate.
Unless demand diminishes, supply issues will continue to favor a seller’s market and home values will likely remain stable or continue to rise.
PBN: What are multifamily sales like right now in Rhode Island? What’s the interest like from real estate investors?
MAYER: Multifamily sales continue to be very strong. There are lots of investors, local and otherwise, who perceive real estate as a great way to diversify their investment portfolio with short- or long-term flexibility.
PBN: You recently accepted the position of vice chair of the Professional Standards Committee on behalf of the Greater Providence Board of Realtors. What does that position entail?
MAYER: The Professional Standards Committee plays an important role in holding Realtors accountable to stipulated standards of our profession.
The primary duty assigned to the committee is to interpret the Realtor Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice and recommend appropriate actions regarding any disputes that are presented to the committee.
As vice chair, I support the chairperson and step into that role on an as-needed basis.
PBN: Can you tell us about one of your favorite real estate transactions from recent history? Why did you enjoy working on that one?
MAYER: I’ve recently had the pleasure of working with a buyer from Cambridge, Mass., who was referred to me by a Compass agent based in Greater Boston. I quickly learned that the handful of homes in Providence that my client could afford needed far more work than she could envision doing.
Several weeks ago, we completed an unsuccessful showing in a neighborhood that my client loved. As we stepped out the front door, she pointed to a house across the street and asked me whether I knew if the home was still available. It turned out that my client remembered seeing the property on Compass’ website but that it was no longer actively listed in MLS [the Rhode Island Statewide Multiple Listing Service].
I did some sleuthing and determined that the owner lived out of state and was ready and willing to sell. Talk about teamwork and serendipity: my client will be closing on the property in mid-March.
Marc Larocque is a PBN contributing writer.
