Offering -200' of frontage with permitted dock & mooring

54 Niantic River Rd may be one of the most desirable homes in the region. This eastward facing property offers a lifestyle highlighted by 1.48 acres of land and over 200 feet of frontage on the Niantic River. A dock permit is in place to allow for a deep water access. Entertain poolside on the cobblestone patio with expansive views. This energy star home with GeoThermal heating offers an open floor plan accented by hardwoods, granite, tile and a floor to ceiling field stone fireplace. This 3,796 square foot home has 4 bedrooms and 3.5 baths allowing plenty of room and privacy. The lower level space with walkout access offers a wood stove and plenty of room for pool tables, exercise equipment, or home entertainment. Ask your agent for a comprehensive marketing packet with architectural floor plans.

Comprehensive Marketing Packet

Virtual Tour

High Hopes for the Mystic Country Economy

A recent article in The Day News Paper quoted an economist as says, “Connecticut housing has become more affordable relative to residents' income, declining from a high of 5.4 times income to a current level of 4.2 times income - still about a point higher than the national average.”
This was a great article and I think that it deserves a look. Click here to view the article. We feel that the Mystic Country portion of CT is extremely unique and must be analyzed independently form the remainder of the state.

Homes selling at 4.2 times income levels are not necessarily a great thing. If we take a look at the Case-Schiller Index which states that equilibrium in a perfect world is 3 times household income then we still have a long way to go. Those figures become much less meaningful in towns where second homes are purchased and not just owner occupied primary residences are used for the calculation.

Many of the towns in the region appear to be close to equilibrium and a couple are actually below the magic number “3”...meaning that bargains exist.
Our next hurdle is the inventory. We must get rid of the inventory so that towns are absorbing the revenue streams from taxes. As soon as the towns are healthy then our budgeting gets cleaned up, schools are not shut down, roads get fixed, and town employees keep their jobs. Unemployment is another topic that warrants discussion.

People then become more confident in our economy and maybe by then the commercial loan debacle that is about to land on our laps is less disastrous. Baby steps are needed to turn things around. Activity breads results.

Tim Bray B.S. Real Estate & Urban Economics (UConn)
Sotheby's International Realty
860-912-7137
tbray@brayconsultants.com

We want to apologize to all the agents in Mystic Country

Entering the realm of Real Estate in South Eastern CT seemed like a natural progression when I moved here from Washington D.C. to be with my wife and her family. After all, growing up in a real estate family has made me passionate about the industry. As a child, I would listen to my father, Les, talk about real estate trends, valuation, spread sheets, and running a business in a moral and ethical way. Real estate was in my blood.

I knew when I entered the profession that it was going to be very difficult to gain traction and be successful over the long term in this industry. Statistics showed that 75% of all realtors leave the industry every 4 years. That was a huge failure rate and I did not want to be part of those statistics.

Early on, my father left his career as a very well known reputable Commercial and Residential Appraiser in Maine to join me in my quest for success. Together, we felt as though we were unstoppable. After all, he had been involved in over a Billion dollars in real estate transactions and I had a degree in real estate & urban economics from the University of CT. We had an edge over all the other agents in the region and we would use that edge to propel us into successful careers.

Looking back….it was scary. Most agents grew up in this region and had a sphere of influence to turn to for work and referrals. We had no one. The only edge we had was our knowledge of the industry, unique backgrounds, and our ability to represent clients to the best of our ability. We pushed our backgrounds to the news papers, bought radio ads, put up a website, and even placed signs on street corners. One of those signs we later learned was placed on the corner of another agent’s property. She was not impressed and rightfully so. We were exploiting our own attributes but at the expense of our reputations amongst peers in the industry. We were striving for a win-lose situation when negotiating with other agents. This was all in the name of giving our clients the best representation possible. Yes, we were gaining traction and quickly excelled to the top percentile in the industry, our clients loved us….but there was a cost. We lost the respect from some very well known and seasoned agents who deserve all the respect in the world. These agents were in the top 25% and had spent many years in the industry perfecting their craft. We want to sincerely apologize to these agents for our arrogance and disrespect.

Our business models are now parallel to Dale Carnegie’s teachings from the early 1900’s. We believe in a win-win philosophy where both parties leave the table feeling good about the transaction. We are here to guide our client’s and give them enough information to make the very best decisions possible. We are not here to exploit the short comings of our fellow agents but to help them become better through our own example.

My team and I religiously track the real estate market in search of information that will give us a competitive advantage and help our clients. On a biweekly basis we take each of our listings and monitor the # of properties in direct competition; how many new properties have been added to the market; how many price reductions; # of properties under contract; # of properties closed; etc. Over time trends emerge...but I have never seen a trend like the one I discovered yesterday.
Keep in mind that over the past 5 years it has been our primary goal to market properties better than the competition and simply get them under contract. 95% of the time these properties would go through the motions and successfully close. Times have changed.
As an example I would like to show you the Groton residential single family market in the price range of $250,000 -$300,000. Over the past 4 months there have been a total of 52 properties that have gone under contract. Of those 52 properties 14 have closed. This is a 27% close ratio in comparison to a former ratio of 95%!! 4 properties in that range are still under contract at this time. Many of these properties have been withdrawn or are in pre foreclosure-foreclosure status. The Montville market is at a whopping 18% close ratio.

It is becoming more and more difficult to find qualified buyers that are capable of meeting the new lending standards and are willing to see a transaction through without being scared off by the National Media at some point throughout the transaction.

Thankfully unique properties such as waterfront, equestrian, or special use properties are being targeted by the wealthy, overseas investors, or bottom feeders with their eyes on an opportunity. This will keep diversified agents fed through the tough times.

More to come…

Raw Video -Metcalf's Law put to the test

Buyers and sellers are faced with many options when choosing a real estate professional. To differentiate ourselves ultimately means more business. But there are only so many hours in the day and our sphere of influence is not helping us grow our business as fast as we would like. Does video work...I am not sure at this point but I do know that after folks watch our video they feel as though they know us. The first meeting seems more relaxed and casual. Instead of hearing "Nice to meet you" we here "Great to see you" The end result is that we are utilizing metcalf's law in we produced something once and let the web do the rest indefinitely...even as we sleep. Our video is very basic, shows that we are down to earth, and makes us approachable. Click below or paste into your browser to watch this 1 minute video.
http://web3.streamhoster.com/tbray777/Introduction%20to%20Bray%20Consultants%20@%20Sothebys.wmv

We have differentiated ourselves in the way that we market properties and our philosophy when listing a property. To show potential sellers how our services differ, we have created a six minute listing presentation outlining our intent and plan to market their property. Although the presentation is strong, we find that our backgrounds and real estate education are the pivotal points tipping the scale in our favor. Our presentation can be viewed by pasting the following link into your browser or just clicking on the link.

http://wms3.streamhoster.com/tbray777/SothebysVideo.wmv