June 2009 – The New Hampshire Real Estate Market

Well, it is officially summer! It will be very interesting to see what the summer real estate market will have in store for us.

Quick Stats:

As usual these days, there are plenty of active listings to go around.  Both Carroll and Belknap active listings are up about 7% over last month, but that is to be expected with new listings coming on for the summer.  Carroll County had a relatively strong month with Pendings increasing 7% and closings increasing 35% (woot, woot!!), while Belknap did not do quite as well with Pendings down 15% and closings down 10%.   Come on Belknap, stay with us!

Average Sales Price:

The Average Sales Price in Carroll County is down to $169,900. It was $179,000 the prior month and $200,500 this time last year. Average Days on Market:

This year Carroll County is quite sporadic with regards to the average time on the market. As you can see it has been quite up and down for the past few months. This month`s downward trend is a good sign… let`s hope it continues!

Absorption Rate:

And…the ever important absorption rate. Carroll and Coos still have the highest rates with 29.5 and 28.6 months of inventory on the market, respectively.  Hillsborough County once again has the lowest rate with 14.2 months.

The rates are up pretty much across the board.  I would like to think that it is because of the influx of new spring/summer listings. We shall see!

Statistics Copyright 2009 Northern New England Real Estate Network, Inc. The reproduction of these statistics is done with the permission of NNEREN. The statistics referenced herein are based solely upon listings submitted to the multiple listing service database of NNEREN and do not include all properties sold and marketed for sale. ALL INFORMATION DEEMED RELIABLE BUT NOT GUARANTEED. Any analysis or commentary related to these statistics is that of the commentator, and not that of NNEREN.

The State of the Nation`s Housing 2009 – Harvard University

The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University just released the `The State of the Nation`s Housing 2009.`  If you enjoy facts, figures, statistics and charts galore like I do, this 44 page doozy is a great source of information!  They do not paint a very pretty picture of the housing market, but I think most of us would have been mighty surprised if they had found differently.

If you are so inclined, the  entire report can be found here. Otherwise, I have summarized some of the more important points for you.

THE MARKET:

• New home sales have dropped about 60% from 2005 to 2008

• Existing single-family home sales are at the lowest level since 1997.  In April of 2008 there were 4.85 million sales, while in April of 2009 there were 4.68 million.

• There were 81,900 manufactured housing units shipped, the lowest number since 1959 when record keeping began.

• Homeowner vacancy rate hit an all time high of 2.7 percent.  Homes built since 2000 had a vacancy rate of 9.7 percent.

FORECLOSURES:

• 3.9 percent of one- to four-family loans was in foreclosure.  8.8 percent were at least 60 days past due, which means that they are well on their way to foreclosure.

• 3.2 million homeowners entered foreclosure in 2007 and 2008, and 600,000 entered foreclosure in just the first quarter of 2009.

• 14 million households were upside-down in their mortgages in March of 2009.

• Foreclosures accounted for 30 percent of existing home sales in the 4th quarter of 2008 and short sales accounted for an additional 15 percent.

• 46 percent of the national total of foreclosures are in California, Arizona, Nevada and Florida.

• Of the loan modifications that lowered payments by 10 percent and more, 1/5 were at least 60 days delinquent within 60 days.

FINANCING:

• 74 percent of the loans originated in 2008 were guaranteed by a federal agency, Fannie Mae, or Freddie Mac.

• FHA and VA originated 7 percent of loans in the fourth quarter of 2007, and 34 percent of the loans in the fourth quarter of 2008.

• A household that could have qualified for a $482,000 loan in 2005 could only be approved for $277,000 now.

HOME AFFORDABILITY:

• The number of households that pay more than 1/2 of their income to housing jumped from 13.8 million in 2001 to 17.9 million in 2007.

• Nearly 1/2 of working age households with incomes 1 to 2 times the federal minimum wage spent more than 1/2 their incomes on housing.

• NO household earning minimum wage can afford a modest two bedroom apartment anywhere in the United States.

OTHER GOODIES:

• If every home was as energy efficient as homes built since 2000 have been, residential energy consumption would drop 22 percent!

• Between 2001 and 2007, $874 billion of home equity was cashed out to pay off non-mortgage debt.

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR US IN NEW HAMPSHIRE?

Housing is a LOCAL phenomenon.  Here in New Hampshire most of us have been lucky enough to escape the brunt of the housing downturn.  Is it the opportune market to sell in? No, not really. Is is still a great time to buy? Yes, of course!

The market will return. We should feel blessed that did not see the downturn that California and Florida had.  I am certain that next year`s Housing Report will be a bit more uplifting!

May 2009 – The New Hampshire Real Estate Market

The NNEREN May Stats are out! Time for the monthly review of New Hampshire Real Estate stats!

Quick Stats

As usual…. lots o` active listings in Carroll County.  Pending sales are up from last month nearly 25%, though! Sales are down just a bit, from 68 to 57.

Average Sales Price

The average sales price has gone up! Still a bit off of last year, but up is good. Up is very good.

Average Days on Market

The Average Days on Market has been up and down as of late.  We are currently at 211 days which is a bit higher than we would like to see! Hopefully we can see this number drop as we come into the summer selling season.

Absorption Rate

The almighty absorption rate… As a whole, New Hampshire had a significant drop over last month, going from approximately 24 months worth of inventory on the market to 18.  That is definitely headed in the right direction!  Carroll and Coos Counties currently have the highest rates, at 28 and 27 months, respectively.   Hillsborough County is down to 14 months!

Absorption Rate over Time

All in all… not too shabby! Properties are starting to go under contract and sell, and more higher priced homes are selling as well.  Price it right, and it can be done!

April 2009 – The New Hampshire Real Estate Market

The Northern New England Real Estate Network has put out their April statistics! That means it is time for the monthly review of the New Hampshire Real Estate Market.

Especially in today`s real estate climate, knowing what the market is doing is imperative to making smart decisions when it comes to buying or selling your New Hampshire property.  Looking for a particular statistic you do not see here? Contact us and we will do our best to research it for you!

Quick Stats (Carroll County):

As usual these days, there are plenty of listings to go around. However, while the number of active listings is up about 15%, there are almost double the amount of pending or contingent listings than last month (98 vs. 50), and closings were up 28%.  Looks like a spring rush to me!

Average Days on Market:

Looking at the Average Days on Market is a quick way of determining how ‘soft’ the market is. Days on Market records how many days properties were actively on the market before they were sold. Generally speaking, the higher the DOM, the more likely it is a buyer’s market.
Do keep in mind that this number can be skewed in a number of ways. If a seller decides to take his property off the market for the winter, or decides to switch REALTORs, the DOM for that property will return to zero. It is common for properties that do not have accurate asking prices to come on and off the market numerous times.   If yo have any questions about the accuracy of a property’s DOM, be sure to ask your REALTOR to research.

You can see that April’s DOM dropped quite a bit and is significantly lower than last year. At 154 days it is still longer than we like to see, but it is an improvement over last year’s 201! I would like to think that this is because some sellers putting their property on the market in the past few months have been realistic with their pricing.  If it is priced right, it will sell!

Average Sales Price:

As you can see, the Average Sales Price has been lower than last year’s for the past few months.  Do keep in mind, though, that this not necessarily mean that the same house is going for less this year than it did last year.  It could also point to the fact that more less expensive homes are selling, and fewer more expensive homes are selling.

Absorption Rate:

In my mind, the Absorption Rate is the king of all real estate statistics. Simply put, if you have 50 homes on the market and 10 buyers per month, you have five months worth of inventory. From a seller’s point of view, the less inventory you have, the better!

A five month inventory would be nice… but not reality these days. The absorbtion rate has been steadily increasing since the start of the year.  Grafton and Coos counties have the highest rates, with 33.2 and 32 months of inventory, repsectively.  Hillsborough has the lowest rate as usual with 18.9 months.

Overall, there has not been significant change – for the worse or for the better – over the past few months.  It is still a great time to buy, but also a great time to sell as long as you price correctly!

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