Rebecca Rubin, a sales associate for Residential Properties Ltd., recently was the listing agent for the top sale of 2020 in East Providence, a colonial home at 32 Drowne Parkway, in the Rumford neighborhood. A real estate agent for seven years, Rubin spoke to the Providence Business News about the market in 2020.
PBN: The home on Drowne Parkway, by outward appearances, would not seem to be the top sale for East Providence, at $807,500. From the street, it appeared to be a suburban home. What’s the story here?
RUBIN: It’s one of those houses where you actually can’t judge a book by its cover. It’s sort of deceiving. It appears to be this average-sized Rumford cape or colonial. But the [previous] owners had put on a rather large addition. This included a great room and a master suite upstairs. It also was well-appointed.
PBN: What makes Rumford a desirable neighborhood in East Providence?
RUBIN: Mainly the draw to Rumford is it’s a great East Side [of Providence] alternative. Because you get more space, you get more bang for your buck and you’re really a short ride over the bridge to the East Side. And your taxes are lower. If you were to put that house … on the East Side, you’d be looking at close to [a] $1 million [sale]. And Rumford also [has] a great community.
PBN: What was the market like in 2020 for Rumford? Did the area have a lot of homes on the market?
RUBIN: Rumford did follow what I would say was typical for the rest of Rhode Island. We actually had a decrease in inventory, again. It was really the wave of new buyers coming from different areas that made the prices soar. We had record-high sales for single-family homes, both in Rumford and the East Side, and throughout Rhode Island. So, you were really seeing less inventory and less days on market but with higher sales prices.
PBN: What were some of the ways you had to change your approach to selling real estate this year with the pandemic?
RUBIN: Once the Rhode Island Association of Realtors put in guidelines about how to show houses, as far as what was safe for seller and buyer, people were much more confident about going to look. For a while, we were in sort of a freeze. RIAR was really great about putting those guidelines in place and so was Residential Properties. We made our clients the No. 1 priority, as far as safety. Showings became just the immediate people looking at the house, not extended family. We wore masks, we provided gloves and just made sure everyone was comfortable.
PBN: How long have you been a Realtor and how long have you worked with Residential Properties Ltd.?
RUBIN: I’m starting my seventh year. I’ve been with Residential my entire career. My mother was a real estate broker for over 30 years; she did coastal sales, so when I got into the business … I knew what I was getting into. As Sally Lapides, the company owner, said, “Well, you were listening to the lingo in the backseat of the car since you were a little girl.”
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at MacDonald@PBN.com.
