Having been involved for over 30 years, Rick Healey of Foster-Healey Real Estate knows a thing or two about the ever-changing ways of the real restate business.

With a focus on mainly residential properties, Foster-Healey Real Estate prides itself in keeping up with the growing technology since the start of the Internet era. Their agents are well-trained and professional and service the entire marketplace from first-time home buyers to seasoned ones. 

The company was originally founded in 1924 by Ralph Foster, and Healey’s father started working there in the 1950s and started managing in the 1960s. Shortly after, in 1977, the company was bought and became Foster-Healey Real Estate, and the name was kept as the Fosters were well-known in the North Central Mass area. 

Healey took over running the business shortly after his father passed, and has been involved with the North Central Chamber of Commerce since he’s owned the business, and was also a past chairman in 1995. In 1990, Healey also owned and operated Countryside Real Estate in Leominster and Gardner. 

“The [North Central] Chamber of commerce is great at connecting,” Healey said. “As a local business, we enjoy the Chamber working with other locally-owned businesses and being able to connect and work with them. We appreciate what the Chamber does to connect everyone.”

Foster-Healey includes their 3D Matterport Tours in every house they market. According to their website, the “Matterport Tour is an immersive, 360º virtual experience. It is a great tool for engaging our potential home buyers by allowing you to really feel like you are walking-thru the home. What is so neat about the tour, is the fact that you can press the play button at the bottom of the screen, sit back and enjoy a walk-thru video.”

“The Internet has changed everything that we do. The consumer is expecting the best experience possible,” said Healey. “[The 3D Tours] allow the consumer to have the freedom to explore more, and thus, more likely be interested in purchasing the property.”

The Matterport Tours also put things into perspective by allowing the user to virtually tour through a house and put things where they actually are. At times, real estate photos can be digitally altered, but with Foster-Healey Real Estate, you get the real deal. They combine the 3D Matterport Tours with professional photography as well as drone photography to be able to provide the best experience for the consumer looking to purchase or sell. 

In the spring, Foster-Healey Real Estate is looking forward to a great spring market and more 1-on-1 time with clients like first-time home-buyers with the education process. “We see ourselves as a liason or guide for the [home-buying] process, as marketing agents, rather than just listing agents,” said Healey. 

Foster-Healey Real Estate is located at 50 Central Street, Leominster, MA 01453. For more information on Foster-Healey Real Estate, please visit their website at www.foster-healey.com. 

North Central NOW is a news segment of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce that spotlights business and community leaders, as well as relevant business news in various ways including written articles and video segments. For more information on North Central NOW or to be considered for the next segment, please contact David Ginisi, Marketing and Communications Manager at .

Community and business leaders will look to the future of the economy in North Central Massachusetts at the Ninth Annual Economic Forecast Breakfast being held on Friday, March 27, 2020 from 7:45 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Double Tree by Hilton, 99 Erdman Way, Leominster, MA. Sponsored by Fidelity Bank and in partnership with the Greater Gardner, North Quabbin, Nashoba Valley and Wachusett Area Chambers, the breakfast will feature the results of the annual Economic Outlook Survey and remarks from a panel of three featured speakers. 

This year’s Economic Forecast Panel will feature Dr. Tracey Corley, Transit-Oriented Development Fellow at MassINC; Eileen McAnneny, President of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation; and Dr. Bo Zhao, Senior Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

Bo Zhao is a senior economist at the New England Public Policy Center in the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department. He specializes in public finance and urban and regional economics. In 2013, he received the Boston Fed’s President’s Award. Zhao earned his PhD in economics and his MS in applied statistics from Syracuse University. He joined the Boston Fed in 2005 and served on the Municipal Aid Subcommittee of the Massachusetts Municipal Finance Task Force from 2006 to 2007. Zhao was selected by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation as one of 20 young scholars nationwide to participate in the 2005 Entrepreneurship Research Boot Camp.

Eileen McAnneny joined the staff of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation as its President in February, 2015. Founded in 1932, the Taxpayers Foundation is widely recognized as the state’s premier public policy organization dealing with state spending, tax and economic policies. The Foundation’s record of high-quality research and non-partisan analysis has earned the organization broad credibility on Beacon Hill and across the state. Earlier in her career, she worked in the public sector as a staff attorney for the Joint Committee on Revenue of the Massachusetts legislature, playing a key role in numerous significant tax policy changes, including reforms to the corporate tax code, an overhaul of the Appellate Tax Board, amendments to DOR’s administrative practices and updates to unclaimed property collections.  A cum laude graduate of Tufts University and Suffolk University Law School, Ms. McAnneny holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and a juris doctorate in law.   She is a Commissioner of the Group Insurance Commission and on the Board of Directors of the Cooperative Central Bank. She also was appointed by Governor Baker as Vice Chair of the Commission on the Future of Transportation in the Commonwealth.

Dr. Tracy A. Corley, MassINC’s Transit-Oriented Development Fellow, thrives on creating economic opportunities and sustainable livelihoods for people in our world’s metropolitan regions. She brings expertise in economic development, business, labor markets, architecture, law, and public policy to MassINC. As the TOD Fellow, she convenes political and community leaders to spur inclusive development in Massachusetts’ Gateway Cities. Dr. Corley attained her B.A. in Architecture Design from Clemson University and her M.S. in Public Policy and Ph.D. in Law and Public Policy from Northeastern University.

The cost is just $35 for Chamber members/$50 for non-members and includes a breakfast buffet. Tables of ten are also available.  Pre-registration is required. For more information or to register, please contact the Chamber at 978.353.7600 ext. 235 or CLICK HERE.