Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com May 25, 2015 • Hartford Business Journal 5 Realtors bullish as home-buying season kicks off By Gregory Seay gseay@HartfordBusines.com M emorial Day weekend typically is the unofficial launch of America's annual home sales and buying sea- son, and Connecticut's residential brokers and lenders say they have plenty of reasons to expect this will be a strong one. Borrowing rates still near historical lows, a wide inventory of houses for sale, and plenty of pent-up demand from a broad age demographic are driving factors, indus- try pros say. Candace Adams, president/CEO of Wallingford's Berk- shire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties, with 1,480 brokers and 48 offices state- wide, said the Con- necticut housing market displayed similar positive signs early in 2013, before sputtering. This year, late winter snow and fickle spring temperatures have gotten the sales season off to a slower than usual start, Adams said, but momentum lately has begun to build. Strong home sales ripple throughout the broader economy, impact- ing everything from providers of home- improvement and home-care supplies and services to furniture and appliance retail- ers. Refinancings free up consumer cash to buy cars or go shopping or on vacations. "We're in a good spring sales market that will extend into late summer,'' she said. "We're not only seeing more first-timers, of course, we're also seeing people on the move-up side of the market.'' Berkshire Hathaway's recent first-quar- ter survey showing an increase in house and condo sales the first three months of this year vs. a year earlier generally jibes with surveys from Hartford area Realtors and Boston publisher The Warren Group. The Greater Hartford Association of Real- tors last Tuesday reported the region's house sales rose 5 percent in April with only a mod- est gain in median price. But it was the 16 per- cent climb in houses under contract but not yet closed that bodes well for May and June sales, and that has sales agents and brokers beaming, says association CEO Jeff Arakelian. Through the first four months of 2015, pending sales are 11 percent higher — more evidence, experts say, the sales market is trending upward. "They're ecstatic about the pickup in the marketplace,'' Arakelian said. "They've been through a lot the last few years.'' The region's best year for home sales was 2005, eclipsing 11,941 units sold, GHAR data shows. Three years later, sales slumped to 8,463 amid the near global financial melt- down and looming Great Recession. But all of that is in the rearview mirror of the state's housing and mortgage indus- try. Single-family and condominium sales are up across a broad swath of Connecticut, particularly among first-time buyers, lend- ers and Realtors say. However, they caution that along with young people buying their first house, "first- timer" also applies to older buyers who may have lost a house to foreclosure or been forced to sell due to a lost job. Anyone who has not owned a home in the last three years techni- cally qualifies as a first-time buyer, industry observers say. Chelsea Groton Bank, a mortgage lender active mostly in Norwich and New London counties, is pressing regulators for the green- light to open a mortgage loan-production office in Glastonbury. The bank says the rela- tively high percentage of renters there, plus others in the region, offer a lucrative source of new homebuyers and borrowers. Michael Sheahan, retail lending manag- er for Chelsea Groton, said its first-quarter volume of purchase and refinance mort- gages is running ahead of the comparable period in 2014. But compared to the first quarter of 2013, refis are down. Other lenders report a falloff in refis as homeowners eligible to exploit record-low interest rates already have. "We are excited about the level of pur- chase transactions transpiring to date, including first-time homebuyer and home construction projects,'' Sheahan said. The mortgage industry, too, is showing sensitivity to the plight of Millennials and other potential homebuyers saddled with student-loan debt. According to Sheahan, at least one private mortgage insurer is offer- ing to medical- and dental-school graduates a mortgage insurance product that enables them to qualify for a mortgage despite their student debt. Lenders typically require pri- vate mortgage insurance on loans with less than a 20 percent downpayment. Amid the good, this housing market has some dark spots, observers say. Berkshire Hathaway's Adams said demand is weakest for luxury houses priced $1.5 million and up. The reason is that buyers are drawn to more affordable inventory, while potential buyers in the target move-up market remain on the sidelines either because they won't or can't sell their existing home. Arakelian said his members have adequate inventory of houses for sale. Nothing's worse, brokers say, than not having ample supply. n PDS has been meeting the needs of the construction industry since 1965. Our dedicated team of design and construction professionals welcomes the challenge of serving its past and future customers on their most demanding projects. Liberty Bank | Hamden, Connecticut PDS Engineering & Construction served as Design Build General Contractor for this Liberty Bank facility. The project also included a second floor of apartment units and two other tenant spaces on the first floor. The bank itself entails a teller area, offices, lobby, restrooms, break room, conference rooms, equipment rooms and an elevator. KEY FACTS Project Size: 7,300 Square Feet Date of Completion: 2014 107 Old Windsor Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002 (860) 242-8586 | Fax (860) 242-8587 www.pdsec.com PDS ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION, INC. DESIGN BUILDERS • GENERAL CONTRACTORS • CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS SPOTLIGHT ON: Banking Candace Adams, president/ CEO, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties P H O T O | H B J F I L E What's in a name? In Healthcare, it's everything. Susan Powers Partner & Certified Trainer — Sandler Training/PEAK A person's name defines them, it's their identity — it's personal. We know that patient retention is higher when patients feel a personal connection to not only their physician but also to the rest of the practice. Using a person's first name in as many interactions as possible will go a long way in making your patients feel comfortable. The long-term benefit? They will be loyal, perhaps even brand evangelists for your practice. (Think standing on a mountaintop shouting, "My Doctor's office is THE best and everyone should use them! " type of evangelist.) Here's a scenario I often see when working with health care professionals: The pass off from waiting room to exam room. We've all been there. A Healthcare professional comes into the waiting room and calls your name. You get up and follow him down the hall to the exam room, where you're eventually told — "The doctor will be with you in a moment." You sit, read a few magazines — knowing it will be more than a "moment". Frustration. How about this scenario: The Healthcare professional calls your name and as they usher you to the exam room they say "Good morning (patient's name), I'm John — I see you are here to see Doctor Amy for a routine physical — let's get you situated in Exam room #4." You are ushered in and here's what happens next. "(Patient's name), as Jamie at the front desk mentioned, Doctor Amy is running 10 minutes behind — can I get you something to read while you wait?" See the difference? When a Healthcare professional uses the patient's first name and uses the first name of the doctor — it makes the experience more personal — the people involved are no longer strangers. You know from your own life experiences that it's easy to be difficult to a stranger — there's little risk in saying or doing something disrespectful or unkind. It's harder — there's more at risk – being difficult with someone you know. Moreover, the small act of exchanging first names quickly moves the relationship from stranger to acquaintance … from difficult to cooperative. What's in a name? Power and patient satisfaction. Training a team on the above tactics takes time, patience (no pun intended!) and nurturing — it isn't easy but it's achievable and worth it! For more information about Sandler Training/PEAK contact: Susan Powers, Partner & Certified Trainer — Susan.Powers@ sandler.com or call (203) 264-1197. Peak Sales Performance, LLC 2 Bridgewater Road, Suite 105 Farmington, CT 06032

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