Surf’s up!

85 Nayatt Road, BarringtonPrice: $4.53 millionDATE SOLD: August 13, 2014Buyer: David I Goulden TrustSELLER: Bradford and Dorothea FaxonBroker(s): Coleman Realtors Inc.Year built: 2003bathrooms: 9.2bedrooms: 7Living space: 9,026 square feetPrevious price: $1.75 million / COURTESY COLEMAN REALTORS INC.
85 Nayatt Road, BarringtonPrice: $4.53 millionDATE SOLD: August 13, 2014Buyer: David I Goulden TrustSELLER: Bradford and Dorothea FaxonBroker(s): Coleman Realtors Inc.Year built: 2003bathrooms: 9.2bedrooms: 7Living space: 9,026 square feetPrevious price: $1.75 million / COURTESY COLEMAN REALTORS INC.

The Ocean State has been riding a wave of high-end residential real estate sales recently, one that looks to keep rising in 2015.

One hundred and seventy-six homes sold for more than $1 million in 2014, according to the Rhode Island Association of Realtors, the second year out of the last three that returns the number of homes sold in that price range to levels not seen since before the Great Recession. In fact, within the past decade, only three years trumped last year’s sales volume. And through June 22, 71 homes have sold for $1 million or more, just shy of the 79 sold in the same period in 2014.

By way of explanation, Bruce Lane, president of the Rhode Island Realtors Association, said that in its simplest form, as the economy gets better, so does the housing market. But beyond that, one factor driving the growth is that “interest rates are still remaining historically low.”

Chris West, co-owner of Gustave White Sotheby’s International Realty, confirms the strong market. “[Last year] was a good year; it was really good,” she said. However, despite a “great increase” in dollar volume in 2014, 2005 still remains the high mark for the brokerage.

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West points out that despite the increase in high-end sales, the market is not a simple one to service. “There is no pressure [for the buyer], because often they have another home, or two, so they don’t have to buy anything, as compared to the lower price ranges, where they need to buy something to move into,” she said.

As a result, her agency has begun to include far more photographs, floor plans and even videos of prospective homes in order to entice buyers.

“Buyers are looking on the Internet, and they want to know as much as they can. Often when they come to a house, they are coming for the second time, because they have already looked at the pictures, the floor plan and the video,” she said. “They have a really good idea of what they want.”

In some cases, though, buyers just want to buy, according to David Godden, director of distinctive homes at Randal Realtors Real Living. “I’m very optimistic about this year,” he said, “not just in the high end but in every end, people want to … make a move now.”

And aside from a nice floor plan, what are high-end buyers looking for? The coast. They want a view of the water and a short walk to the beach, explains Godden.

“It comes back to the old adage of location, location, location,” he said.

In fact, eight of the most expensive sales in the Ocean State last year had a water view at least, if not direct access to the coast. Those 10 properties sold for a minimum of $4 million, with the most expensive home closing at $12 million.

And based on what Godden is seeing, that piece of the market is not going to shrink. “One thing we really noticed in Misquamicut [in Westerly], we are seeing a lot of homes on the beach that are being made bigger. … People are putting a lot of money into Misquamicut.”

However, the king of the high-end market remains Newport, with half of the top 10 sales being located in the City by the Sea.

Two homes in the top 10 have seen the turn of the past two centuries. Both located in Newport, the estates at 25 Bowery St. and 36 Beacon Hill Road were built in 1852 and 1891, respectively. You don’t need an extended pedigree to demand the market’s attentions, however. Half the homes on the list were built in the last 25 years, with one of them constructed in 2012.

All the interest in Rhode Island real estate is a good thing for sure. But West admits having mixed emotions as global connectivity pushes the details of all real estate across the globe, helping her business thrive.

Rhode Island “really is a little gem,” she said. “Should we not tell anybody and keep it a secret?” •

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