Robert Rutley is a real estate agent and broker associate at Mott & Chace Sotheby's International Realty, working for the company since 2017. Rutley was a founding and managing partner of The Blackstone Team at Mott & Chace but has since gone solo as a real estate agent for the company. He takes pride in being a “relocation specialist,” helping hundreds of buyers move to Providence throughout his 14-year real estate career.
Rutley is director of the Greater Providence Board of Realtors, and he is chairperson of the board’s diversity equity and inclusion committee. He has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and a bachelor’s degree in information technology from Capella University in Minneapolis.
PBN: What's your outlook or forecast for the Providence real estate market for 2024?
RUTLEY: 2024 will be a robust year for home sellers compared with the last 16 months. Higher interest rates not only gave buyers pause to purchase, but it also handcuffed home sellers with low rates into staying put and not listing their home just yet.
The pressure is building for both sides now and with a nudge down in interest rates from 8% in September 2022 to 6% currently, the levee will break. Luxury sales are still robust, relying on more ethereal factors unconnected to mortgage interest rates.
PBN: What are some of the biggest challenges that you and your fellow Rhode Island real estate agents are facing right now?
RUTLEY: The biggest challenge for skilled salespeople and brokers is still – cue the broken record – lack of inventory. I have buyers across the financial spectrum that do not have homes to buy.
The biggest challenge to the industry is the surge of inexperienced, part-time real estate professionals that have not developed the skill set to represent clients. There's an alarming report on this from the Consumer Federation of America.
PBN: Are you and others here in Rhode Island facing a lack of inventory? What's your sense on this, and how do you deal with this current inventory level?
RUTLEY: Inventory has been the big complaint for the past five-plus years. It continues and ebbs and flows through the seasonal cycle. Overall, the U.S. is short 3.8 million homes to satisfy the current housing needs. In some states, this is being addressed substantially.
In Rhode Island, new home builds for midrange buyers are often subpar and piecemeal. You'll have a vinyl clad box with four windows and unexciting workmanship stuck into a vacant lot that is already congested. The builder will be asking for top dollar, or more.
PBN: What would be your advice to a new real estate agent that was just licensed in Rhode Island?
RUTLEY: It's a hard road to success for many new agents. I would say that they should understand themselves well and know what they're good at. Make that a focus and hone your skill set. Involve yourself in your community. Read, learn, get mentorship and training. This is not a career to “fake it until you make it,” unless they like to be at the losing end of lawsuits.
PBN: What was your favorite real estate transaction of 2023 and why?
RUTLEY: I'm fortunate to have a statewide presence. I had the opportunity to sell a little home, a cottage at 7 Howard Hill in Foster, last year. It was designed with the talented architect Jack Ryan and owned as an artist's escape from the city with the directive of “half-cave, half-greenhouse.” I love representing unique homes and this one was gorgeous.
Marc Larocque is a PBN contributing writer. Contact him at Larocque@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter @LaRockObama.
