Five Questions With: Benjamin Scungio

Benjamin Scungio is the newly appointed manager of the Providence office for Mott & Chace Sotheby’s International Realty. The office is in a newly renovated, ground-level unit at 100 Exchange St. Scungio spoke with Providence Business News about the local market for luxury properties.
PBN: Mott & Chace has opened a Providence office. What is the focus?
SCUNGIO:
The focus of our office is to bring a new, fresh face to one of the greatest small cities in the world. We are in the process of creating an amazing team of top-producing Realtors who have years of experience in the industry. Sotheby’s International Realty is a world-renowned brand with more than 860 offices, and we plan to utilize the power of this brand to our clients’ advantage in Providence and the East Bay.
PBN: What is the market in the Providence area for luxury real estate? What are people selling and what do buyers want?
SCUNGIO:
In the Providence marketplace, luxury is not necessarily defined by price. We have an excellent selection of single-family homes, condos and multiunit homes in beautiful, turn-key condition. We have exceptional properties at every price point. We have buyers exploring city life, millennials purchasing their first home or condo, and families choosing the East Side as their residence of choice.
PBN: What is your expectation for the market in 2016? What do you anticipate seeing?
SCUNGIO:
Realtor.com recently announced Providence as the No. 1 market to watch in 2016. Many real estate experts consider Providence to be a Boston “spillover market,” which means we attract buyers from the greater Boston area. This interest, combined with increased interest statewide, indicates that Providence will be a robust real estate market. We expect to continue to experience shorter days on market and selling prices closer to the listing price. Market data indicates activity trending in this direction.
PBN: What impact will rising interest rates have on real estate? It only went up a quarter of a percent, but presumably it will signal more changes down the line.
SCUNGIO:
The Federal Reserve did recently increase the bank borrowing rate for certain loans by .25 percent. We don’t anticipate any softening of demand as a result of this nominal increase.
PBN: How will your office manage the needs of millennials? They are living in Providence, but at this point, remain mostly renters.
SCUNGIO:
Being a millennial myself, I understand how millennials think. We are the first generation to embrace technology in virtually all aspects of our daily lives. We expect immediate access to information and we want results. The Mott & Chace Sotheby’s International Realty office is strategically located at Waterplace to take advantage of this growing population of buyers. We will have an interactive storefront display of properties and employ cutting-edge technology to present, market and sell properties. All of our agents are fully wired, facilitating constant contact with our clients. We pride ourselves on being available whenever our clients need us.

No posts to display