Four commercial properties in downtown Alliance sold for $1 million, according to the latest real estate transfers filed with the Stark County Auditor’s Office.
Carbon Alliance LLC purchased adjacent office buildings at 243 E. Main St. and 245 E. Main St. as well as the commercial building at 500 E. Main St. and the parking lot behind the building on Warehouse Street. The properties were previously owned by Olde Theatre Apartments Limited Partners.
This week’s transfers cover March 23 to March 29:
Alliance
Carbon Alliance LLC from Olde Theatre Apartments Limited Partners, 243 E Main St, $1,000,000.
Carbon Alliance LLC from Olde Theatre Apartments Limited Partners, 245 E Main St, $1,000,000.
Carbon Alliance LLC from Olde Theatre Apartments Limited Partners, 508 Warehouse St, $1,000,000.
Carbon Alliance LLC from Olde Theatre Apartments Limited Partner, 500 E Main St, $1,000,000.
Cuthbertson Ryan from Alliance Homes II LLC, 1305 Elmside St NE, $150,000.
Forman Jason v from Fireside Estates LLC 2740 Series, 721 Garwood St, $45,000.
Jacocks Terence from Taylor Anita & Dixon Stephen & Annese, 1462 S Arch Ave, $42,000.
Keleman Joseph Anthony & Abby Lynn from Trade in Holdings LLC, 2505 Ridgewood Ave, $280,000.
Medel Victor & Maria Evelyn from Fasig Mary J, 994 Federal Ave, $260,000.
Mega Rentals Ltd from Price Matthew, 104 W Columbia St, $32,000.
Noling Jennifer L from Kramer Rosella M, 379 Buckeye Ave, $109,000.
Path of Patriots LLC from Hensley Bruce G & Carol A, 2235 S Linden Ave, $76,900.
Property Renovations of Alliance LLC from Ramser Richard J, 1045 W Cambridge St, $155,000.
Lexington Township
Kirksey Joan M from Kirksey Joan Et Al, parcel 2900703 Jennings Rd NE, $4,500.
Kirksey Joan M from Kirksey Joan M, parcel 2900703 Jennings Rd NE, $3,000.
Township Homes Ltd from League Alexander Riley, 11361 Homestead Ave NE, $18,000.
Louisville
Burrows Justin from Burrows Justin, 214 South St, $2,000.
Daup Michael S & Sell Jenna M from Paxton Robert S, 2124 Hillocke St, $257,000.
Johnson Denita from K Hovnanian at Orchard Park LLC, 3053 Mcintosh Dr NE, $364,990.
K Hovnanian at Heritage Park LLC from Maxsam Investments LLC, 386 Jonagold Dr, $183,000.
K Hovnanian at Heritage Park LLC from Maxsam Investments LLC, 441 Honeycrisp Dr NE, $183,000.
K Hovnanian at Heritage Park LLC from Maxsam Investments LLC, 443 Honeycrisp Dr NE, $183,000.
K Hovnanian at Heritage Park LLC from Maxsam Investments LLC, 445 Honeycrisp Dr NE, $183,000.
Kellams James & Beth from K Hovnanian at Orchard Park LLC, 413 Honeycrisp Dr NE, $247,990.
Lawson Kristi L & Kenneth E from the Standard Company of Ohio LLC, 418 Beechwood St, $188,000.
Ramsey Michelle C from Ramsey Michelle C, 206 South St, $2,000.
Marlboro Township
Moore David & Vicky from Palmer Justin D, 6836 Pinedale St NE, $374,000.
Nimishillen Township
Masalko Manuel F from Brown Ashton & Mckimmie Zoe, 7880 N Nickel Plate St, $335,000.
Myers Beth A from White Jared & Jeremy, 4541 Eastland Ave, $227,000.
Ogg Timonthy & Becher Kristine from Etc 1 Properties LLC, 6970 Reno Dr, $115,000.
Ogg Timonthy & Becher Kristine from Etc 1 Properties LLC, parcel 3300075 Reno Dr NE, $115,000.
Ouimette Curtis & Robin from Simmons James L & Donna R, parcel 3309308 State St NE, $86,000.
Zigler Daniels & Moriah from New Residential Mortgage Loan Trust 2018, 3035 Pinevale Ave NE, $159,600.
Zigler Daniels & Moriah from New Residential Mortgage Loan Trust 2018, parcel 3304289 Pinevale Dr NE, $159,600.
Osnaburg Township
Amstutz Joshua F & Teah from Reinhart Cory L, 271 N Berger Cirs, $231,000.
Paris Township
Lane Kyle L & Cobletz Raine A from Bowersock Kimberly Ann, 2261 Union Ave NE, $155,000.
Lewis Donald R Jr from Barnes Brittani, 610 W Line St, $139,000.
Waltz Freddie L & John A from Waltz Marion Etal, parcel 4100997 Paris Ave SE, $132,250.
Washington Township
Robson Carrie J & Brandon from Robson Carrie J & Main Craig D & Robert, 5045 Beechwood Ave NE, $200,000.
Through the first two-and-a-half months of 2024, Volusia County has already seen the sale of at least 41 luxury homes for $1 million or more.
That number already exceeds the 38 million-dollar-plus homes sold during the first three months of last year.
Most, although not all, high-end homes in Volusia County are purchased in cash, according to Realtors. A few deals involve financing, but not as much as for homes sold for less than a million dollars. That’s why luxury home sales are not as affected by high interest rates as properties listed in lower price ranges.
Here’s a look at the top luxury home sales in Volusia County so far this year.
1. 1316 N. Peninsula Ave., New Smyrna Beach
SALE PRICE: $7.4 million
DATE SALE CLOSED: Feb. 7, 2024
DESCRIPTION: Built in 2005, this 3-story riverfront home has 5 bedrooms, 7 baths and 7,439 square feet of living space on a 0.41-acre lot. The open-concept floor plan includes floor-to-ceiling windows in the grand living area and panoramic views of the Indian River and surrounding landscape. The home includes a gourmet kitchen and a separate combination kitchen/family room. Outside, it offers an expansive terrace along with a pool, spa, covered patio and a dock and boat house with a boat lift. The property also includes an attached 2-car garage.
WHO HANDLED THE DEAL: The listing agent was Loretta Burn of Haven Waterfront Real Estate in Edgewater. The buyers were represented by G. Scott Yurchison of Collado Real Estate in New Smyrna Beach.
2. $5.18 million: 700 N. Peninsula Ave., New Smyrna Beach
SALE PRICE: $5.185 million
DATE SALE CLOSED: March 1
DESCRIPTION: Built in 2009, this 5-bedroom, 6-bath house along the Intracoastal Waterway offers 5,120-square-feet of living space and a 3.5-car garage. It sits on a half-acre lot with 57 feet of frontage along the river as well as a dock. The backyard includes a covered lanai and an outdoor kitchen as well as an infinity pool and spa and a view of the Ponce Inlet lighthouse located just a mile to the north.
WHO HANDLED THE DEAL: The listing agent was Realtor Terri Jackson of The Keyes Company in New Smyrna Beach. The buyers’ agent was Pat Collado, the broker/owner of Collado Real Estate in New Smyrna Beach.
More:Ormond mansion of Hawaiian Tropic’s Ron Rice finally sells for $3.6M
3. $3.6 million: 175 Ocean Shore Blvd., Ormond Beach
SALE PRICE: $3.6 milllion
DATE SALE CLOSED: March 15
DESCRIPTION: Built in 1987, this 4-bedroom, 5-bath oceanfront home was the longtime home of the late Hawaiian Tropic founder Ron Rice, who died in May 2022 at the age of 81. The massive three-story house offers 12,400 square feet of living space and sits on a full acre that includes 200 feet along the beach.
The home includes a room that Rice used as a discotheque modeled after the famous Studio 54 in New York City. The mansion’s crowning glory is its huge indoor pool adorned with statues of winged fairy nymphs that connects to one of the property’s two outdoor pools.
WHO HANDLED THE DEAL: The listing agent was Bill Navarra, the broker/owner of Realty Pros Assured in Ormond Beach. Navarra wound up representing both the Ron Rice Estate as well as the buyers, a couple from the Carolinas whose son plans to relocate from South Florida to live in the house.
4. $3.4 million: 357 N. Beach St., Ormond Beach
SALE PRICE: $3.4 million
DATE SALE CLOSED: March 4
DESCRIPTION: Built in 2012, this 4-bedroom, 4.5-bath riverfront home offers 6,813 square feet of living space. It sits on a 0.67-acre lot that includes 150 feet along the Halifax River as well as a refurbished dock. The backyard includes a pool and spa. The view from the house includes the river as well as the Granada Bridge.
WHO HANDLED THE DEAL: The listing agent was also the property’s seller, Janelle Mertins, a Realtor and former owner of Pegasus Realty & Associates in Ocala. Mertins bought the home two years ago as a vacation getaway. The buyers’ agents were Matthew Renshaw and Ann Alexander, both with Realty Pros Assured in Ormond Beach.
5. $3 million: 1000 Sudbury Lane, Ormond Beach
SALE PRICE: $3 million
DATE SALE CLOSED: March 15
DESCRIPTION: Built in 2021, this 5-bedroom, 6.5-bath custom home in Ormond Beach’s Plantation Bay community offers 5,835 square feet of living space and includes a four-car garage. It overlooks a golf course. The 1.03-acre property includes a pool, an outdoor kitchen, and a full bath. The house includes an additional apartment suite.
WHO HANDLED THE DEAL: Realtor Debbie Spelman of Venture Development Realty (based at Plantation Bay) represented the sellers. Her colleague at Venture Development Realtor, Realtor Carol Paquette, represented the buyers.
This is a view of the Halifax River from inside the great room at the home at 357 N. Beach St. in Ormond Beach that sold on March 4, 2024 for $3.4 million.
Pegasus Realty & Associates
This riverfront home at 357 N. Beach St. in Ormond Beach sold on March 4, 2024, for $3.4 million.
Pegasus Realty & Associates
This is a view of the golf course at Plantation Bay from the screen-in pool for the 5-bedroom, 5-bath home at 1000 Sudbury Lane in Ormond Beach that sold on March 15, 2024 for $3 million. The home has 5,835 square feet of living space and includes a 4-car garage. It was built in 2021.
Venture Development Realty Inc.
This 5-bedroom, 5-bath home at 1000 Sudbury Lane in Ormond Beach’s Plantation Bay community sold on March 15, 2024 for $3 million. The 5,835-square-foot home is along a golf course and includes a screened-in pool. The listing agent was Debbie Spelman. The buyers were represented by Carol Paquette. Both are Realtors with Venture Development Realty Inc.
Venture Development Realty Inc.
This is the pool and spa at the riverfront home at 357 N. Beach St. in Ormond Beach that sold March 4, 2024 for $3.4 million.
Pegasus Realty & Associates
This is the dock behind the riverfront home at 357 N. Beach St. in Ormond Beach that sold March 4, 2024 for $3.4 million.
Pegasus Realty & Associates
This riverfront home at 357 N. Beach St. in Ormond Beach sold March 4, 2024 for $3.4 million. Built in 2012, it has 4 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, 6,813 square feet of living space and is on a 0.67-acre property that includes a backyard pool and spa, a dock and 150 feet of frontage along the Intracoastal Waterway. The listing agent also also its seller, Realtor Janelle Mertins of Pegasus Realty in Ocala, who owned it as a vacation home.
Pegasus Realty & Associates
This is the kitchen inside the home at 700 N. Peninsula Drive, New Smyrna Beach.
The Keyes Company
The great room inside the home at 700 N. Peninsula Drive, New Smyrna Beach, offers views of the Intracoastal Waterway.
The Keyes Company
This home at 700 N. Peninsula Drive in New Smyrna Beach was sold by listing agent Terri Jackson of The Keyes Company on March 1, 2024 for $5.185 million, the most paid for a single-family home in Volusia County this year through mid-March. Built in 2009, the 5-bed, 6-bath home has 5,120 square feet of living space. The half-acre property is on the Intracoastal Waterway. It includes an infinity pool, outdoor kitchen and dock.
The Keyes Company
This home at 700 N. Peninsula Drive in New Smyrna Beach was sold by listing agent Terri Jackson of The Keyes Company on March 1, 2024 for $5.185 million, the most paid for a single-family home in Volusia County this year through mid-March. Built in 2009, the 5-bed, 6-bath home has 5,120 square feet of living space. The half-acre property is on the Intracoastal Waterway. It includes an infinity pool, outdoor kitchen and dock.
The Keyes Company
An “R” can be seen on the gate entrance to the oceanfront mansion of the late Hawaiian Tropic founder Ron Rice at 175 Ocean Shore Blvd. in Ormond Beach on Monday, Nov. 28, 2022 in Ormond Beach.
David Tucker/News-Journal
This is an aerial view, taken in the 1990s, of the oceanfront mansion of the late Hawaiian Tropic founder Ron Rice at 175 Ocean Shore Blvd. in Ormond Beach. The property is across the street from Oceanside Country Club (visible at the top).
Provided Image
Artwork and memorabilia fills the great room in the oceanfront mansion of the late Hawaiian Tropic founder Ron Rice on Monday, Nov. 28, 2022. Rice’s estate put the luxury home at 175 Ocean Shore Blvd. in Ormond Beach up for sale on Thanksgiving Day 2022.
David Tucker/News-Journal
The oceanfront mansion of the late Hawaiian Tropic founder Ron Rice at 175 Ocean Shore Blvd. in Ormond Beach is pictured on Nov. 28, 2022. The property was recently put under contract to be sold.
David Tucker/News-Journal
Bill Navarra, the broker/owner of Reality Pros Assured, and Linda Kramer, the longtime personal assistant to the late Ron Rice, stand next to the original trash can that Rice used to mix his first batches of Hawaiian Tropic suntan lotion in the late 1960s. They are seen here on Monday, Nov. 28, 2022, inside Rice’s Ormond Beach mansion at 175 Ocean Shore Blvd. which his estate put up for sale on Thanksgiving Day. The asking price is $5,999,900.
David Tucker/News-Journal
This is a view of the great room in the oceanfront mansion of the late Hawaiian Tropic founder Ron Rice on Monday, Nov. 28, 2022. Rice’s estate put the luxury home at 175 Ocean Shore Blvd. in Ormond Beach up for sale on Thanksgiving Day 2022.
David Tucker/News-Journal
Bill Navarra, the broker/owner of Realty Pros Assured, and Linda Kramer, the longtime personal assistant to the late Ron Rice, stand next to the original garbage can that the Hawaiian Tropic founder used to mix his first batches of suntan lotion back in the late 1960s. The garbage can was later plated in silver. Navarra is the listing agent for Rice’s oceanfront mansion at 175 Ocean Shore Blvd. in Ormond Beach which was put up for sale on Thanksgiving Day 2022. He and Kramer are seen here in the mansion’s great room on Monday, Nov. 28, 2022.
David Tucker/News-Journal
This is an indoor pool at the oceanfront mansion at 175 Ocean Shore Blvd. in Ormond Beach. The 12,414-square-foot four-bedroom, five-bath custom home belonged to the late Hawaiian Tropic founder Ron Rice. It was put up for sale on Thursday, Nov. 24, 2022 with an asking price of just under $6 million. It sits on a full acre that includes 200 feet of beach frontage.
Provided Image
This is the indoor pool inside the oceanfront mansion of the late Ron Rice, seen here on Monday, Nov. 28, 2022. The pool connects to one of the property’s two outdoor pools and is adorned by statues that are giant-sized replicas of the trophies Rice used to give out to winners of his suntan lotion company’s Miss Hawaiian Tropic International pageants. The luxury home at 175 Ocean Shore Blvd. in Ormond Beach was put up for sale by Rice’s estate on Thanksgiving Day 2022.
David Tucker/News-Journal
This outdoor pool connects to an indoor pool at the oceanfront mansion of the late Hawaiian Tropic founder Ron Rice on Monday, Nov. 28, 2022. Rice’s estate put the luxury home at 175 Ocean Shore Blvd. in Ormond Beach up for sale on Thanksgiving Day 2022.
David Tucker/News-Journal
This is the master bedroom suite in the oceanfront mansion of the late Hawaiian Tropic founder Ron Rice, seen here on Monday, Nov. 28, 2022. The suite was redecorated by Rice’s daughter Sterling when he decided to use one of the first-floor bedrooms instead. The luxury home at 175 Ocean Shore Blvd. in Ormond Beach was put up for sale by Rice’s estate on Thanksgiving Day.
David Tucker/News-Journal
The indoor pool connects to the large outdoor pool in the oceanfront mansion of the late Ron Rice, seen here on Monday, Nov. 28, 2022. The luxury home at 175 Ocean Shore Blvd. in Ormond Beach was put up for sale by Rice’s estate on Thanksgiving Day 2022.
David Tucker/News-Journal
Artwork and a dart board adorn the walls inside the dining room in the oceanfront mansion of the late Hawaiian Tropic founder Ron Rice on Monday, Nov. 28, 2022. Rice’s estate put the luxury home at 175 Ocean Shore Blvd. in Ormond Beach up for sale on Thanksgiving Day 2022.
David Tucker/News-Journal
DAYTONA BEACH − A new national ranking lists Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach as the ninth-slowest metro area in the country to sell a house.
The ranking by CreditNews.com comes as a surprise to P.W. Mabry, president of the Daytona Beach Area Association of Realtors.
“We’re selling properties like crazy right now,” said Mabry, an agent with Re/Max Signature in Ormond Beach. “Our numbers (volume of homes sold) are going up.”
How did they come up with the ranking?
New York-based CreditNews.com based its ranking of the nation’s 10 fastest and 10 slowest metro areas to sell a house on data from real estate website Zillow.com, which found that it took a median of 39 days for a listing to be put under contract to be sold in the “Deltona” metro area in January.
“When referring to ‘Deltona,’ we meant the entire metro area, encompassing Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach,” confirmed Dan Runkevicius, chief editor for CreditNow.com in an email. “The data was sourced from Zillow’s ‘for-sale inventory’ data set.’ Housing inventory was then adjusted to account for the size of the metro population.”
Florida Realtors Association data showed the “median time to contract” for existing single-family homes in Volusia County in January was actually 41 days, according to a copy of the report provided to The Daytona Beach News-Journal by the West Volusia Association of Realtors.
The Daytona Beach Area Association of Realtors reported that the median time to contract for properties listed by its members was 53 days.
The statewide median time to contract in January was 43 days, according to the Florida Realtors Association.
Nationally, the median time to contract for homes to be put under contract was 36 days in January, according to the National Association of Realtors.
It’s based on a ‘Zestimate’
Mabry said he takes data provided by Zillow with a grain of salt.
“(Real estate) brokers must click on a button that allows Zillow to get their information,” he said. “I know for a fact that not all brokers click on that button.”
“Zillow also has in small print on its reports that when they give you an appraisal value for a property that they call it a ‘Zestimate.’ That’s so they can’t be sued (if the information is incorrect),” said Mabry. “It’s their personal opinion.”
“We have people tell us all the time that ‘Zillow says my house should sell for a half-million dollars,’ but that’s not necessarily the case,” he added. “Their ‘Zestimates’ are only within 5% of the actual sale price of a home about half of the time.”
John Adams, president of Adams, Cameron & Co. Realtors in Daytona Beach, also expressed skepticism regarding Zillow’s latest ranking for the Deltona metro area.
“Zillow has a very good statistics team and generally produces good results, however, in this case, I can’t agree,” said Adams.
Adams, Cameron has 300 agents in eight offices in Volusia and Flagler counties, the most of any real estate brokerage in the combined two-county area.
Local market back to pre-pandemic levels?
Florida Realtors Association data for the Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach area, which encompasses the combined Volusia County-Flagler County area, showed that the median time to contract for homes locally rose to 33 days in 2023, up from 13 days and 11 days in 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Despite the increase, the median time to contract remained lower than in 2019 (41 days), the year before the COVID-19 pandemic-fueled real estate boom in Florida began.
“I like the (Florida Realtors) view over time, because it is more objective,” said Adams.
What CreditNews had to say about its rankings
The report by CreditNews.com stated that its study “reveals a major shift in best-selling markets since the onset of Covid. None of the top fastest-selling metros pre-COVID remain on the list today, and vice versa.
“Part of the reason behind this realignment is different inventory levels across the nation − which, we found, has a strong connection with how fast listings sell.”
What do the latest local housing numbers say?
According to countywide data provided by the West Volusia Association of Realtors, Realtors in Volusia County sold 509 homes in January, up 3% from 494 a year ago. The median sale price rose to $350,000, up 4.8% from $333,990 in January 2023. The inventory of active listings climbed 21.8% year-over-year to 2,384, compared with 1,957 a year ago.
Still, the month’s supply for Volusia, meaning how long in theory it would take to deplete the inventory if no new listings are added, remained tight at 3.3 months, compared with 2.5 a year ago.
The statewide month’s supply in January was 3.8, according to Florida Realtors.
According to the National Association of Realtors, that means the local real estate market remains tilted somewhat in favor of sellers. “Historically, six months of supply is associated with moderate price appreciation, and a lower level of month’s supply tends to push prices up more rapidly,” the NAR website states.
Who else made the fastest and slowest lists?
According to CreditNews.com, the 10 fastest metro areas to sell a house in January, along with the median days on market, were as follows: 1. Hartford, Connecticut (8 days); 2. tie between Rochester and Syracuse, New York, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (9 days); 5. tie between Richmond, Virginia, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and New Haven, Connecticut (11 days); 8. tie between Boston and Worcester, Massachusetts, and Columbus, Ohio (12 days).
Jacksonville was the other Florida metro area, along with Deltona to make the 10 slowest metro areas list: 1. Austin, Texas (66 days); 2. McAllen, Texas (53 days); 3. Poughkeepsie, New York (51 days); 4. San Antonio, Texas (49 days); 5. New Orleans, Louisiana (48 days); 6. Jacksonville, Florida (42 days); 7. tie between Cape Coral, Florida, and Colorado Springs, Colorado (41 days); 9. Deltona, Florida (39 days); 10. New York, New York (37 days).
Why do some homes take longer to sell?
While some homes locally sell within days of being listed, others can go months without receiving an offer, often resulting in a lowering of the asking price.
“When homes sit on the market, there can be a lot of reasons,” said Mabry. “In some cases, it could be a property that requires extensive repairs or updating. Being over-priced is almost always the No. 1 reason. You have sellers out there trying to get top dollar for their home, in some cases against the advice of their Realtor.”
As mortgage interest rates slowly tick down, who are today’s home buyers and what motivates them to make a purchase?
A recent National Association of Home Builders analysis of the latest American Housing Survey provides insight into recent home buyers and the home buying process. Conducted in odd-numbered years by the U.S. Census Bureau, the 2021 AHS studied 10.2 million households that bought a home in the previous two years.
Of these households, 40% were buying their first home, while 7% were purchasing a new home. In general, new home buyers are older, make more money, and are purchasing bigger, more expensive homes. On the other hand, first-time home buyers are younger, make less money, and are purchasing smaller, less expensive homes.
Home buyers said the top two reasons for choosing a home were “for a better home” (60%) and “a better neighborhood” (49%). Household formulation was third. More first-time home buyers reported forming a new household as the top reason for moving compared to buyers who purchased new homes seeking a better neighborhood.
The survey also asked about the size of homes and found that newly built homes tend to be larger. Nearly a quarter (24%) of new homes were between 1,500 to 1,999 square feet, and 23% were between 3,000 to 3,999 square feet. Compared to newly built homes, homes purchased by first-time buyers tend to be relatively smaller, with 31.6% homes between 1,000 to 1,499 square feet. The median size of new homes is 2,334 square feet, while the median size of homes bought by first-time buyers is 1,669 square feet.
Saving money to purchase a home is an important part of the process. The survey results provided insights on how much money buyers allocated to downpayments. NAHB analysis found that half (50%) of all buyers had a downpayment of 0 to 20%. Only 18% purchased their home without a downpayment. Among all recent home buyers, first-time buyers had relatively smaller down payments. A majority (82%) of first-time home buyers put no more than 20% down.
As single-family home construction expands this year and interest rates become favorable, many individuals and families may start planning to buy a new home.
Mike Thomas is 2024 president of the Building Industry Association of Stark & East Central Ohio.
Each week, this series shares MarionMade! stories of our many wonderful people, places, products and programs in the greater Marion community. To read more positive stories of Marion, or to share some of your own, visit us at marionmade.org or on social media.
Blair Rowland grew up in Waldo with her brother and mother, Karen Beers. Rowland described her mother as a role model and the inspiration for Blair’s future career.
“For a lifetime, I’ve been immersed in the world of real estate, breathing new life into homes and creating spaces where dreams can thrive. Growing up, my mother was always moving us into another remodeling project with plywood floors and a mile-long to-do list,” Rowland said. “Watching her grind every day to make those rickety properties our home was incredibly motivating. Growing up with such determination around me, I purchased my first home at 20 years old. I have always believed that owning a home should be accessible to anyone willing to put in the effort to make it a reality. Thanks, Mom!”
Rowland lives in Marion with her husband, Nick, and their three children. This Realtor and real estate investor remodels homes to improve the community − including in the neighborhoods she grew up in.
“In 2018, Nick and I purchased our very first investment property online, sight unseen, and took a chance. Since then, we have not stopped making it our goal and personal mission to improve our community by helping one neglected property at a time,” Rowland said.
Rowland also leads the Bridge Group, a real estate team she founded.
“I’m blessed to have an amazing team in both avenues of my business. I have a real estate team that goes above and beyond for our clients every day and incredibly supportive brokerage. I also have an equally talented crew that works tirelessly on our renovation projects to bring beautiful new homes to our community,” Rowland said.
“Blair has assisted us multiple times as our Realtor and is always available for whatever the need, whether it be advice on our flip house, property searching or scheduling a home showing. She is extremely efficient at her job and is always a joy to do business with. sShe is a true asset in our town of Marion,” Joe and Terri Sansotta said.
A love for helping out, and a straight-shooter
Rowland loves helping people.
“I truly feel the best when I can help people solve problems that improve their way of life or help them out of a situation,” Rowland said.
Rowland is a straight-shooter.
“Being honest and transparent are very important to me. I have always been direct and people never have to question where they stand with me,” Rowland said.
Nick worked in the car business until the pandemic.
“When COVID hit our world, we had so much extra family time and slower days. It was quite the wake-up call. While we are incredibly thankful for the opportunities the car business gave our family, we decided it was time for him to be home with us more,” Rowland said.
Nick dove into full-time property renovations and real estate investing.
‘Not a single day feels like work’
“Since then, we have been working 365 days a year. The best part is, not a single day feels like ‘work,’” Rowland said. “The end of last year we decided to embark on our biggest project yet — the whole-house renovation of our forever home,” Rowland said.
Rowland also excited for Marion’s future.
“Marion has a lot of doers in our town that are taking the initiative and making changes. It’s been a long time coming! I’m thankful to know that our future is bright because people are investing in our town. While it takes time to see change, so does anything worth having,” Rowland said.
The reason she loves Marion is simple: its people.
“Every winter, I want to move to warmer weather, but I can’t take my friends and family with me, so here I am. There’s something about this town that keeps people here and brings people back. That’s pretty special and truly what life is all about,” Rowland said.
She credits the community for her success.
“People make this town a wonderful place to live. A lot of people have been very good to my family and me over the years, giving us opportunities and chances to chase dreams I never thought possible,” Rowland said. “People believe in me and that is something that wakes me up early every day. I’m excited to go out and show them I am thankful for their support.”