About Kent County, RI

Keeping you updated on the market! For the week of November 16, 2009 MARKET RECAP A popular journalism cliché states, “If it bleeds, it leads.” The gist being that bad news sells, so no wonder that many in the business media lead with an NAR report stating home prices fell in the third quarter from year-ago levels in 80% of U.S. metropolitan areas, while the national median price for single-family homes fell 11.2% to $177,900. We cannot argue the numbers; they are true. The financial crisis of 2008 hit full bloom in the third quarter of 2008, and its fallout ravaged the housing market over the subsequent six months. However, we all knew that, so is it really news? If we dig a little deeper, we find that average home prices actually rose 2.2% during the third quarter. Moreover, if we dig deeper still, we find that several of the poster-child markets improved substantially: Median home prices in Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Fla. , a market that epitomized the market collapse, improved 4.6% over the quarter to $217,000, while Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale saw prices rise 8.8% to $142,700. Legitimate concerns weigh on the housing market, to be sure. Few outweigh foreclosures. RealtyTrac estimates as many as 3.4 million households will receive a foreclosure notice this year, a 48% increase over last year. Moreover, RealtyTrac sees only marginal improvement in 2011. We do not want to understate the foreclosure problem (if the employment situation does not improve soon, foreclosures could indeed rise), but it is worth noting that foreclosures dipped 3% in October from September even as unemployment rose. On a more positive note, we are encouraged by the turning of homebuilder fortunes. Atlanta-based Beazer Homes returned to profitability in its fiscal-year fourth quarter, earning $35.3 million. Even more encouraging, the country's largest luxury homebuilder, Toll Brothers, reported that its contracts increased 42% in units and 62% in dollar amount in its fiscal-year fourth quarter compared to the same quarter in 2008. The dramatic turnaround in Toll Brothers' business suggests the recovery isn't confined to the lower end of the housing market, nor is it solely dependent on government stimulation. Given the income required to buy a Toll Brothers home, most of the purchasers were likely ineligible for the government homebuyer’s credit. Still the Time to Borrow and Buy For the past four months, we have been forwarding the argument that housing prices have stabilized. Wells Fargo has provided another arrow for our quiver. To avoid defaults and foreclosures, the banking giant is offering homeowners with Alt-A ARMs the option to offset monthly payment increases with interest-only loans to defer amortization for six to 10 years. It sounds like a risky move. After all, interest-only loans were a contributing factor to the housing meltdown. But many of those loans were originated in a much riskier era – near a market top. That is certainly not the case today, which is why Wells Fargo is betting that home prices have stabilized and that the economy will improve. We think it is a smart move. We also think it is a smart move to refinance or buy today. Rates are very, very good (but they will not be forever, for sundry reasons we have previously stated). What's more, the purse strings aren't nearly as tight as borrowers might think. According to the Federal Reserve, the rate of banks that reported tightening lending standards for prime residential real estate loans was 25% in October, which is well off the peak of 75% reported in July 2008. In other words, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are readily available at 5% (which for borrowers in the 28% federal income tax bracket works out to 3.6% after tax). Meanwhile, the 5/1 hybrid ARM presents an intriguing option for borrowers planning to move within the next few years. A 3.75% 5/1 works out to a mere 2.7% after tax for someone in the 28% tax bracket. Yes, rates could go lower, but not much lower.

With skyrocketing oil prices, the cost of heating homes is jumping off the charts. The Department of Energy expects heating bills to be 27 percent higher this winter for people who heat with oil and 41 percent higher for those who heat with natural gas. In cold-winter climates, this number will be closer to 30 percent. What can you do?

Some homeowners are turning to pellet stoves to provide supplemental (or in some cases, primary) heat. Pellet stoves look similar to wood stoves or fireplace inserts, but the similarities end there. Instead of burning wood, they burn small pellets made typically of recycled wood shavings, sawdust, or corn. Inside, they are very sophisticated combustion appliances that offer very low-cost heating. For more about this, see Advantages of Burning Pellets and Pellet Stove Energy Cost Comparisons.

Most pellet stoves produce a small fire that, concentrated in the center of the unit, burns hot. If you like the look of a fire, it's important to find a unit with a good flame pattern and large viewing glass. Here at Fireplace Products LLC. we have multiple pellet stoves available including the Harman Pellet Stoves, Ecotech, and Napoleon pellet stoves. Visit out website for more information on these units. www.FireplaceProductsllc.com

There are many marinas located in Warwick Cove in Warwick Rhode Island, but Harbor Lights Marina, in my opinion is one of the best.

Besides being located on a back street off Warwick Neck Avenue, Harbor Lights Marina has a clear view down Narragansett Bay. Sitting on the dock and watching the boats brings just as much enjoyment as having a boat in a slip.

Harbor Lights Marina, boasts double fingers. (for those who do not know what double fingers are, its a dock on both sides of your boat) Most of the marinas in Warwick do not have double fingers. Having a dock on either side makes it so much easier for the Captain to get the boat in the dock with a minimum of fuss. It also lets the First Mate take their time jumping off the boat to tie up the lines.

A Dock has a perfect view of not only the Oakland Beach fireworks, but a general parade of boats coming up the cove and then returning at the end of the day.

All the docks are clean, well lit and just a nice place to be.  Tim and Leo are always around, either on the gas dock, or in the office, or out in the yard and both are very accessible for questions and help.

Hap, the mechanic and John, the Yard manager are also always accessible and always willing to help.

Below are a few photos of Harbor Light Marina, mostly taken from the water.

If you are looking for a slip, check out Harbor Light Marina in Warwick RI.

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Highland beach, in Warwick, RI is my home town. It is on the very neck of Warwick Neck, another village in Warwick. Perhaps I should say my home "village" as I am continuing on the series I started a couple of years ago.

Back then I promised to do an entire series on the villages in Warwick. I first blogged about Oakland Beach in Warwick RI and I continue to receive calls and emails from that blog. In fact, Oakland Beach has been improving by the minute and I am selling homes there as fast as they go on the market. I am starting to think maybe I should have kept Oakland Beach a secret!

Next I blogged about Conimicut Point, another beach community (and Village) in Warwick, and of course Warwick itself!

Getting to Highland Beach is (and most Rhode Islanders remember this) usually by the "back road to Rocky Point" or Palmer Avenue. Off Palmer avenue are two streets that lead into Highland Beach. These are the only streets into and out of Highland Beach. Once inside you can go down a few different streets, like Priscilla, Ogden, Surf, Chapin, etc, but they all lead to the water.

While Highland Beach has a very small beach, most of the properties are on the waterfront and all the others back up the hill overlooking the waterfront houses. This is a very quaint community. There are homes that have been here for almost one hundred years, meaning that they survived the Hurricane of 38! which to my knowledge was the biggest hurricanes to hit Rhode Island in the past century.

There are all types of homes in Highland Beach. Former beach houses, now converted, large Cape Annes, many with wide porches and also some newer homes are all what makes Highland Beach so quaint. There are no two homes alike and the one bond is the Narragansett Bay!

If you want to live in Highland Beach, you need to be working with a Realtor because, these homes do not stay on the market for long. There are two here for sale right now. One is a waterfront and one is a raised ranch at the top of the hill.

The above statements are the personal opinions of Karen Hurst of Stonehurst Realty

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