President Cindy called us to order at 7:16 and told us she remembers her friend who moved away when she was 13 (Judy Rexford) who has a birthday today. Happy Birthday to her wherever she lives.
Anniversary:
Chris Stoner - 2 years!
Birthdays:
Mona and Cindy - January 18th!
A rousing rendition of Happy Birthday was sung to laughter and smiles
Guests:
Kate Barry - Guest speaker
Rotary Announcements:
Mask distribution - Family foundation out of Connecticut purchased Millions of masks at the beginning of the pandemic. Unloaded 200,000 masks and gave them out to different clubs. The Foundation paid for over 2 Million masks around New England and paid for transportation and everything.
Who are the clubs distributing to?
Our club is distributing them to Groundworks and Winston Prouty
Noon club is distributing to:
-Brattleboro Memorial Hospital
-Brattleboro Retreat
-Garden Path Elder Living
-Turning Point of Windham County
-Windham Southeast Supervisory Union
-Windham Central Supervisory Union
-Youth Services
-Brattleboro Area Hospice
-Grace Cottage Hospital
Shout out to Sadie for her work to get things organized behind the scenes!
Debra R: Blood Drive is setup for January 29th from 12 to 4 at the Legion.
Guest Speaker Kate Barry:
Introduction by Jim V - Kate arrived in Brattleboro about 10 years ago to go to SIT. Got a real estate license in the past few years and has been an amazing realtor ever since.
Kate has worked in the service industry for a number of years and is helping people from that industry transition to work as a Realtor.
Started as a Realtor in 2018. Recently things started to come around and move, just under 600 closed sales in Windham county in 2019 $240,000 is the average price. In 2020 there were over 800 closed sales with the average price being over $360,000.
Kate works mostly with first time home buyers. The volume has changed and the intensity of buyer demand has changed. We don’t know how this will affect the economy of our area going forward. There is a massive backlog for financing (banks), home inspectors, appraisers etc.
Typically in mid-January things are slower, we have not seen that this year. There is a lot of competition for any property that comes on the market. A turnkey house that comes on the market can expect up to 10 offers in 2 days. First time home buyers are finding it difficult to compete for homes.
Questions:
What is the forecast for home buyers? It is getting more intense, people who purchased in the country side want to move in to town to get better/stable internet, electric and mobile service. Vermont really needs to look at these utilities and get things more stable for people in the country side. We’re seeing more cash in the market because people are taking money out of their IRAs as the market is perceived to be unstable and real estate is perceived to be more stable.
What do you think is going to happen in the next four to five years as we look down the road? Can’t say much about that as it depends on a lot of politics. As to people moving back to the city we’ll probably see a lot of changes to our economy here. Kate doesn’t foresee people moving back to the cities en masse.
Are you seeing people taking shortcuts with zoning laws and such? Halifax is seeing a lot of people trying to sub-divide property. Oh yes, That is why people need a buyers agent!
Kate Barry contact info:
Office: (802) 257-1111 ext. 3715
Cell: (603) 547-0852
Email: katebarry@masiello.com
Jim Maxwell has some of his own observations:
several factors that will contribute to the increase to the population of Vermont
- climate change
- People being able to work remotely
- Quality of life - many people are attracted to the quality of life here in Vermont
- Some concerns - such as infrastructure for schools
Brags:
Cindy: Participated in a project with a bunch of local groups bringing thought leaders together to reimagine the Brattleboro and Windham County area. Housing was a big topic not much for rental property and houses.
Turner: His grandson is living with them and attending Penn State remotely. He has been invited to apply to be a Student Trustee at Penn State. Pretty unbelievable for a Sophomore!
Bethany: Yesterday she got to go back to the office in Keene! Hadn’t been there in months, typically has 500 people in it, there are now around 20 people who go there every day. She got to mash up license plates! She turned in to “She Hulk” and was able to vent some of her “pandemic angst”.
Nick: Now has solar panels on his house! The project was really smooth and quick. The company took care of everything from permitting to implementation. Way to go Southern Vermont Solar!
Kevin: Covid test last week and came out negative as are the other folks in his house! Super happy to spend time with his daughter and son-in-law. Did the drive thru at BMH. Not a bad experience.
Katja: Had a Covid test last week and is negative. Noon Club had the Chief Medical Officer as a speaker discussing how the vaccine was going to roll-out in Vermont. We just have to be patient people will get it when they get it. Hard to believe people still argue about wearing masks.
Josh: Continue to be vigilant, our numbers are up higher in the past few days than the past 5 months. Wear your mask and wash your hands!
Turner: Friday will be a big update from the State on when the vaccine will be rolling out.
Jim V: Jim is on the Ag committee. This committee was put in place 40 years ago and went dormant. It was originally created to help preserve agricultural land. It is being reformed to help plan development of Windham County.