NewHavenBIZ

14 n e w h a v e n B I Z | J u n e 2 0 2 1 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m Realtors get creative in helping buyers, sellers navigate CT's hot housing market W ith demand for homes surging and inventories plummeting, Connecticut homeowners looking to sell face a conundrum: How do I get the equity out of my home By Christopher Hoffman fast enough to bid on that dream house before someone else snaps it up? Shelton-based William Raveis Real Estate, one of the state's largest Realtors with operations in nine states, has a solution. In April it introduced a new program called Raveis Purchase. e company pays a homeowner up to 80 percent of their home's equity, fixes it up, stages it and then sells it at market price. e homeowner then gets the rest of the proceeds minus Raveis' commission, a service charge and carrying and renovation costs. "is is just a great tool for our agents and sellers to start to think, 'how do I address this market where there's so little inventory?'" company co-President Ryan Raveis said. "Our business model is to help the consumer get into the house that they want and maximize the value of their existing home." e program, a response to the exploding demand for homes in Connecticut and elsewhere, already has hundreds of homes in its pipeline, Raveis said. Raveis' innovation comes as the state is experiencing its hottest real estate market in more than a decade, said David Baker of KeyBank, a home lender leader in charge of the bank's Connecticut and Massachusetts loan officers. Baker estimates demand is up 30 percent over last year. South of New Haven is especially hot, he said. In February, for example, Connecticut home sales were up 25 percent from a year earlier, while the median sales price spiked 22.5 percent to $300,000, according to the Warren Group. Last year Connecticut home sales reached their highest levels in decades. "If we had more inventory, God knows how many homes we'd sell," Baker said. "ere's nothing to buy right now. Houses go in a day." Baker attributed the explosion in demand to a variety of factors: People fleeing New York City; pent-up demand caused by COVID-19; cheap money — fixed 30-year mortgages are as low as 3 percent; and the Millennial generation at last having enough wealth to buy homes. "e Millennials are finally getting kicked out of the basement," Baker said. "I think people are just prioritizing their lives. ey want to get out from on top of each other and have a little space." For nearly 200 years, Liberty Bank has been behind companies that think big. We provide commercial loans, mortgages, and working capital lines of credit that can be tailored to meet your business's current needs and those in the future. Loans for $1,000,000 and up. Scan the QR code to call a Commercial Lending Offi cer today or visit liberty-bank.com/ct-commercial-lending to fi nd a local lender. Financing for Becker + Becker's Hotel Marcel in New Haven, CT (formerly Pirelli/Armstrong HQ) provided by Liberty Bank. Seven-fi gure business loans for million-dollar ideas. MEMBER FDIC EQUAL HOUSING LENDER Loans, lines of credit, owner-occupied and investment mortgages up to $50 million. All loans are subject to credit and underwriting approval. 21-LBB-0045_FY21_CL_NHB_10x6.75_M2.indd 1 21-LBB-0045_FY21_CL_NHB_10x6.75_M2.indd 1 5/24/21 6:54 PM 5/24/21 6:54 PM PHOTOS | CONTRIBUTED A William Raveis real estate agent works with a couple buying a home.

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