William Raveis

William Raveis, chairman and chief executive officer of William Raveis Real Estate & Home Services, discussed current and future housing trends at a recent meeting of the Real Estate Finance Association, a New England-based organization comprised of 2,000 major real estate professionals in commercial real estate including investors, attorneys, financial institutions, intermediaries and the brokerage community.

The program focused on future economic effects that could be caused by the current economic environment.

Raveis addressed the group of 100 attendees and spoke about the housing prices in the state of Connecticut. According to Raveis, values were up 10 percent per year statewide while units were down 1 percent.

Looking ahead to next year, Raveis said he anticipates 2004 to continue at the same pace with one note of caution: if the interest rates rise 1 percent, the amount of sales will decrease between 4 percent and 6 percent. And although that could occur, Raveis added, he believes it will still be another good year.

Speaking in tandem with Raveis was Nick Perna, former chief economist for Fleet Bank, who provided a broad economic view to the audience.

William Raveis Real Estate & Home Services, based in Shelton, is a privately held, family-owned real estate firm.