PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS
PBN pbn.com
MARCH 4-17, 2022
EVERYBODY’S BUSINESS Gramajo faced his fears, found help to forge ahead | 15
ONE LAST THING
Kaitlyn Szczupak Partner with competitors | 42
YOUR SOURCE FOR BUSINESS NEWS IN SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND | VOL. 36, NO. 22 | $5
MANSION MANIA
Newport ‘cottages’ set sales records in 2021, but what’s next? BY JAMES BESSETTE | Bessette@PBN.com
AS
THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC TOOK HOLD in Rhode Island in April 2020, John Hodnett worried about not only the health crisis but the effect it would have on the state’s luxury real estate market. “I was just like, ‘Oh my God, this could turn everything upside down,’ ” said Hodnett, senior managing director and broker for Lila Delman Compass’ Narragansett office. He wasn’t the only one feeling that way. SEE MARKET
TOP SALE: The $30 million sale of Clarendon Court, a 7-acre seaside estate located on Bellevue Avenue in Newport, in early September 2021 is the highest price ever paid for a home in Rhode Island. COURTESY MIKE OSEAN
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Higher interest rates may douse hot housing market BY NANCY LAVIN | Lavin@PBN.com
WHAT GOES DOWN, must come up. That will apply to mortgage rates, which have begun to climb after hitting historic lows in 2021 and are expected to continue to rise through the end of the year amid upcoming interest rate hikes. Will this put the red-hot housing market on ice?
FOCUS: BANKING & FINANCE
Probably not, say local mortgage lenders, though many expect the blistering pace of loans that has marked the last two years to cool off at least a little. Indeed, the unique combination of low interest SEE RATES PAGE 18
Join us for this discussion March 8th | 9am | Providence Marriott For more information turn to page 35