Real Estate a joint venture for Newton family

By Susie Davidson

Advocate Correspondent

NEWTON - While few industries have successfully withstood the pressures of today's economic climate, the real estate field has persevered and benefited from shifting trends and instabilities. Though other financial indicators have risen, mortgage rates have plummeted, as the home base has become socially paramount. For the indefinite future, people have opted to move inward; with safety the buzzword, nothing seems as secure as the haven of hearth and home.

Large franchises are the predominant avenue for the homeseeking public, but smaller firms are hopping as well, especially in the well-regarded west of Boston area. Such is the case with Ruth Rosenfield Real Estate of Newton Centre, a family-owned firm begun in the mid-70s by Rosenfield, who had studied architecture and design at MIT but remained at home raising her two children with her husband, a pharmacist with drugstores in Quincy and Wayland.

The Rosenfields had built their own home in the early 60s. “We were novices; it took three years,” she recalled. They purchased the land first, then experienced inconsistent contractors. A no-show held up the others, the electrician forgot to hook up the heat and a nasty freezeup resulted. They replenished water-struck bricks made in Bridgewater until an early-rising neighbor discovered the contractor loading them into his truck. "It was firsthand education in home construction, from the ground up,” said Rosenfield.

But her interest in real estate was sparked when people began inquiring as to the status of the finished home. Following her daughter Sherryl’s sweet 16 and son C.J.’s bar mitzvah, she decided to pursue the career. “It seemed very people-oriented, related to my architectural leanings, and was challenging yet rewarding,” she said. “I thought it would be fun to sell different types of houses and meet people from all walks of life. In fact, some people I sold to became brokers themselves and worked with me.”

She took a course at Lee Institute in Brookline, began working for a Brookline realtor, netted 45 listings and eight sales within two months, and was independently practicing within a year. “It’s very self-propelling work; it’s not like you’re in a store and people come in,” she said. “It’s all self-motivation, and long hours, I might add.” Rosenfield has herself worked 17-hour days.

Also a Dorchester native, Rosenfield’s husband Norman holds a bachelor of science degree from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and has been an integral part of the morning minyan at Mishkan Tefilah since saying Kaddish for his own father there in 1969. A man who davened daily while serving in World War II, he also often sings his signature Kiddush on Friday nights at the Chestnut Hill synagogue. He recalled the shamas, Mr. Aaron, at the Agudas Israel synagogue on Woodrow Avenue, who would whack a large wooden object to shush the crowd before singing it. “The old tune is different, maybe more upbeat, or old and familiar, and everybody enjoys it,” he said. “Davin Wolok, the ritual director, has asked me to record it and Aryeh Finklestein, the cantor, jokes that I may replace him.” Instead, he joined his wife’s venture.

Over time their son and daughter, active brokers elsewhere, joined as well. Sales and rentals of residential and investment properties have included Chestnut Village, the largest complex in Chestnut Hill, a $6.4M dollar estate on Heath street and a $3.4M 1800s Victorian on Montvale Avenue in Newton, which Rosenfield had originally sold for $100,000 25 years prior. Many sellers are attracted to the personalized appeal of a small family business. “However, there are caveats,” Ruth Rosenfield cautioned, noting that one can work many long hours for weeks without making a sale. “You win some, you lose some, while incurring heavy operating expenses, which can make it virtually prohibitive for many brokers to either become or even remain independent.” Keeping the seller and buyer together is also involved, and one must always be on-call. “It’s far more labor-intensive than working for a large firm, but the benefit is that you don’t have to cubbyhole yourself into one thing,” she said. “We do it all.”

Why has the market done so well now? “Area hospitals, universities and high-tech facilities are a factor, and draw people from the world over,” she responded. Her son C.J. added that although prices have continued to climb in the greater Boston area, low mortgage rates, due largely to Alan Greenspan’s continued lowering of the prime lending rate, have enabled people to qualify for significantly higher loans. “The lower rates have offset the rising prices of homes, making property affordable that once seemed out of reach.”

But ultimately, he stressed, it is not the value of the home that matters, but rather, the peace and comfort that exists within. Chag Somayach!