Recently we visited the property at 164 Charlotte Drive in the Potowomut section of Warwick.  It is an interesting community with the Potowomut Golf Club and Goddard State Park nearby.  It also has a beautiful stretch of beach on the Narragansett Bay.  Check out the video:

Almost all Rhode Islanders have been affected by the Iway Construction Project, which has moved the intersection of I-195 and I-95 further south. Sometimes it has been painful, but the results seem to make traffic flow better.

Recently, outside our corporate and Providence office, demolition work has begun during the evening to remove the old sections of I-195. This has started at the intersection of Wickenden, South Main, and South Water Streets.

If you had driven under the old highway, you would have noticed steel beams constructed to reinforce the overpass supports. This partially obscured the view of the brightly colored murals painted onto the concrete support structure.

Most of the overpass is now gone, revealing the murals once again. But now they are visible in full daylight. So, we sent out our media team and recorded the following film for history and for those who may not travel over the Point Street bridge onto Wickenden Street. Enjoy.

When I first opened up my company in 1981, people would ask me where I worked and I would say “Residential Properties”…almost as a question, since almost no one knew who we were.  Today, I am proud to say that the RPL Chevron is a very recognizable symbol in Rhode Island and surrounding communities in neighboring states.

The real estate industry today bears little resemblance to the way we did business back then. The internet has changed everything. According to the 2009 National Association of Realtors® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 90% of respondents used the Internet at some point, seven years ago only 41% of buyers used the internet. When asked where they found the home that they ultimately bought, 36% of buyers found the home on the Internet; another 36% learned of that home from a real estate agent. In 2001 48% of the people found their home through an agent and only 8% of the people found their ultimate home from the internet.

It is not always what happens, but how you react that determines your success.  I am proud of the amount and quality of information we provide regardingRhode Island Real Estate. With more and more information on the web, more people are turning to a professional for help sorting through all of it.

And how do people choose their agents?  They look for someone with a great online presence who has knowledge of the process and the market.   That’s the lesson to be learned from NAR’s annual profile of buyers and sellers.

The most effective methods to bring buyers and sellers together are the Internet, working with an agent (who learns about properties through the MLS), and signs. 84% of buyers learned about their home through one of these sources. If you want to sell your home, look for an agent with a great reputation, whose company has a great web presence and good market share.

Ever wonder what your real estate agent does when not showing houses on weekends, evenings, and every other waking moment? Well, Residential Properties has some very active and competitive people. During the last three days, we had some great accomplishments.

There were two golf tournaments in the blistering heat on Monday for the Realtors of Rhode Island. The 17th KWAOR Annual Charity Golf Tournament was held at Quidnessett Country Club in North Kingstown, RI. Our IT Director, Tom Flanagan, joined the East Greenwich team led by manager Cheryl Eley. They were joined by Sheila Harrington of Harrington & Rhodes, Ltd. and another friend of Cheryl. They didn’t enter into the leader board, but had a great time anyway. Proceeds from the event benefited the South County Habitat for Humanity and Habitat for Humanity West Bay and Northern RI.

The Northern RI Board of Realtors held their 3rd Annual Golf Tournament at the Crystal Lake Golf Club in Burrillville, RI. Cumberland sales agent, Debby Smith, was the co-chair of this event. Residential Properties fielded two full teams and a husband of an agent joined the third.

The Residential Properties Men’s team won the tournament. The team included agent Katie Baker’s husband, Gary, sons – Trent and Grant, and agent Doug McKinnon of the McKinnon team. The Women’s team, which was comprised of three agents, Anne Carey, Anne’s sister Marcia Clayton, Doreen LeBlanc and Anastasia Kaufman, also made a fine showing. Anastasia’s husband, Brian, played in another team of three people.

In other athleticism, our own COO, Libby Isaacson, put on a great personal performance in the Narragansett 5 mile run placing 4th in her bracket. This non-profit road race supported the Bobby Doyle Scholarships and the Bobby Doyle youth running fund.

So, when the conversation lags about homes or neighborhoods, you might want to ask about their hobbies. The answer may surprise you.

Watch Libby Isaacson, Chief Operating Officer for Residential Properties Ltd. discuss the 2nd quarter 2009 market report. Libby discusses the state of the market and some of the trends we’ve discovered over the past few months.