This week Steve and I sat down with Lucie Searle from The Providence Preservation Society  to talk about PPS’s upcoming Holiday Festival and Downtown Stroll   Starting with a gala Patrons’ Reception at City Hall: Friday, December 5th from 6 - 9 P.M.,  Providence City Hall is one of the country’s best preserved examples of the Second Empire Baroque style.  This year’s stroll showcases  11 stunning lofts located in six historic buildings that have undergone dramatic restorations.  These private residences will be open to the public from 11A.M. - 4 P.M. on Saturday.

Providence is nationally recognized for having one of the most intact and historically significant, nineteenth century downtowns in the nation.  Over the last several years, the Downtown has seen the conversion of former department stores and commercial buildings into incredible living spaces. Tour goers will experience award winning restorations, stunning architectural details and breathtaking views of the magnificent Providence skyline.

PPS is promoting a Buy Local campaign through its Holiday Festival. Historic Downtown Providence’s local merchants will be open for business throughout the day to give tour goers an opportunity to get some early holiday shopping . Many businesses will have musicians in their stores to entertain the crowds. For more information on local businesses, visit Shop Downcity or Providence Downtown.

We also spoke with George Born, the executive Director at PPS about The Most Endangered Properties List.  The purpose of this list is to generate interest and support for the preservation of significant properties in danger of being lost through arson, vandalism or abandonment, the list serves to educate the public about the benefits of historic preservation and the unique historic properties in our city; and work toward a solution with property owners, developers and other interested parties to bring about positive change in each property.

This Week’s Real Estate Insight:

The rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of Historic structures help to preserve important pieces of our urban history, it is more efficient and environmentally responsible to redevelop older buildings closer to urban cores than it is to build new construction farther away reducing the amount of sprawl.

 

 Listen to Lucie wax eloquently on Preservation here: [47:22m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This week I got an email from a young man in New Jersey who has been thinking about taking the plunge and buying his first home, he has been listening to the show via the podcast, and is grateful for the advice I have been giving. There are a lot of myths and half-truths surrounding the real estate market these days, and it can be pretty daunting for a first time buyer, now I am not saying that everything is Rosy, but if you are in it for the long term, Real estate is still a great investment, and there are some great programs for financing for fist time buyers.

The National Association of Realtors released their third quarter survey last week and reported that 28 out of 152 metropolitan areas showed increases in median home prices from the same quarter in 2007, 4 remained unchanged and 120 declined. The typical seller purchased their home six years ago and in spite of the recent downward price trend, has experienced net equity gains. Nationally, homes increased 18.3% since 2002, and 90 % of all metro areas show six-year price gains.

 With historically low prices and interest rates, coupled with the improved FHA  guidelines, and the first time homebuyer’s credit, it’s an optimal time for entry-level buyers with a long-term view, and the National Association of Realtors reported that  41% of all transactions involved 1^st  time homebuyers in 2007. According to the NAR report, the median income for a first-time buyer was $60,600 and typical first-time buyers bought homes costing $165,000. Of first-time buyers who made a down payment, 69 percent used savings and 26 percent used money from a friend or relative. Another 7 percent received a loan from a relative or friend, while 16 percent used funds from their investments. A fixed-rate mortgage was chosen by 92 percent of those surveyed.

For First time homebuyers, The biggest fear is the unknown, Homeownership doesn’t come with a manual, and a little understanding will go a long way, especially in these economic  times, According to data from NeighborWorks America, a community advocate group, foreclosure rates for homeowners who attended  homeowner education programs was 20 times less than that among subprime borrowers ,and they performed three times better than those in the prime mortgage market during the second quarter of 2008.

 To that end, Residential Properties LTD and Homestar Mortgage will be hosting First time home-buying seminars throughout the state starting after the first of the year.  This week Steve and I talked with Ian Barnacle a sales associate in Residential Properties Providence office, Ian offered his perspective both as a buyer’s agent who helps first time buyers, and as a first time buyer himself.

This Week’s Real Estate Insight:

 

 Listen to this week's show here [46:53m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download