NuzzRE

September 2009 – The New Hampshire Real Estate Market

Michelle — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:32:16 +0000

Can you believe it is the middle of October already? It will be very interesting to see how the numbers look for the next few months now that the summer buying season is winding down.

Quick Stats:

Pending sales in both Belknap and Carroll Counties are up! Carroll County saw a 1% increase (hey, it is an increase!) and Belknap County rose 8%. Sales in Carroll County rose 6%, while the number of sales Belknap County sales dropped 15%.

Median Sales Price:

Whoops. The median sales price dropped by about 10%. This could be caused by some summer end price drops, or sellers accepting lower offers because it was getting towards the end of the selling season.

Average Days on Market:

The Average Days on Market in Carroll County was a super low 145 days this month! Lets see if this low number turns into a trend!

Absorption Rate:

I absolutely believe that the absorption rate is one of the most important stats to look at … and it is looking good! Hillsborough County is down to a very respectable 8.4 months! Considering that six months ago we were seeing counties with absorption rates in the 30s, this is pretty impressive! Rockingham County is a 10.7, Strafford County is 11.4, and New Hampshire as a whole is at 12.3 months. Not too bad! Coos County currently has the highest rate at 20.3, with Carroll and Belknap Counties just under it at 19.7 and 18.4.

The Absorption Rate trend is certainly going in the right direction. Keep dropping! Keep dropping !

Gorgeous Acreage in Madison NH

Michelle — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:08:46 +0000

There are a few large parcels of land for sale in the area, but none
can compare to the tract we just listed in Madison NH. The lot has just over 400 feet of frontage on East Madison Road, and the frontage is a peaceful rolling three acre field.

With a whopping 43.58 acres behind the field, there is plenty of room to roam! Head up the hill and see the sweeping views of the Ossipee and Sandwich ranges, as well as Silver Lake. It has been about 15 years since this lot was logged, so there is quite a bit of large growth on it. You will find that the majority of large lots on the market have been more recently logged. The owners take the timber value off of them before selling them. Granted, this does open up nice building spots and view points, this owner would rather keep the forest in it`s natural form!

The majority of this parcel is in current use. A small portion (0.20 acres) has been taken out of current use in order to obtain a driveway permit and building permits for a 36`x 36` structure just beyond the field and a small camp tucked back in the woods.

This lot is located in the town of Madison, just a few minutes away from skiing at King Pine, shopping in North Conway, or swimming in Silver Lake. It is about 2 1/2 hours north of Boston, 1 1/2 hours west of Portland, and 1 3/4 hours north of Concord.

For more information and pictures of this parcel click HERE or contact us here at the Red House Realty Group.

CustomNHHome.com

Low property taxes means more in my pocket…right?

Michelle — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 19:01:16 +0000

Let`s talk property taxes in New Hampshire. Or, more specifically, property taxes in Carroll and Belknap Counties. There are twenty-nine towns in those counties, with property tax rates ranging from $6.65 per $1,000 in Hart`s Location to a whopping $21.03 in the lovely town of Tamworth. I mean it when I say `the lovely town,` by the way, as I live there. Worth every penny, I tell ya!

No offense at all to Hart`s Location-ites, but besides the opportunity to be on TV every time the presidential election comes around, there is not to much going on up there other than lots and lots of privacy. Beautiful spot, just not a lot of job opportunities, you know? There are quite a few other towns that have both low rates and grocery stores… such as Moultonborough ($7.66), Tuftonboro ($7.95), Bartlett ($8.11) and Wakefield ($9.81).

Now…question of the day.

Does a low tax rate really mean lower monthly house payment? One would assume so, when the owner of a $200,000 house in Tuftonboro pays a measly $132.50 per month in taxes, while the owner of a $200,000 house in Gilmanton pays a comparatively-whopping $349.66 per month. However… that $200,000 house in Tuftonboro is a 1,300 square foot ranch on an acre and a half, a few miles from the main road. That $200,000 house in Gilmanton is a 2,000 square foot colonial on over 7 acres with an attached two car garage (both actual recent sales of about $209K). Hmmmm.

The moral of the story is….

Do not assume that you are going to get the most `bang for your buck` in a town with a low tax rate. The inverse is also true… do not assume that the best `deals` are had in the lower priced towns! Be sure to take the property taxes into consideration.

And…for your viewing pleasure… Carroll County and Belknap County Property Tax Rates:

**rates are 2008 rates. Always, always, always have your agent check for any rate changes!

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NEW! Search Homes SOLD on YourRedHouse.com!

Michelle — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 09:48:35 +0000

I am very excited to announce a few new pages over at YourRedHouse.com!

Although information about property sales is public knowledge, there is no easy way for consumers to see past sales except by trekking to the County Registry of Deeds, or watching week by week in the newspaper.

So far, you can see Carroll County Home Sales in 2009 and Belknap County Homes Sales in 2009. Prior years may come next…we shall see.

The interactive charts allow you to narrow it down by town, by street number or street name, by sale month or by sale price. A little snapshot of what you will enjoy….

Go check it out!

July 2009 – The New Hampshire Real Estate Market

Michelle — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:43:59 +0000

Can you believe it is August already? The July New Hampshire Real Estate Market statistics courtesy of NNEREN are in! And…you know what? They are not too shabby!

Quick Stats:

There are still plenty of properties on the market, no doubt. However, Carroll County pendings are up 11% from last month, and current closings are up 5%! Up is good, up is good. Belknap County did not fare quite so well with pendings down 5% and closings up about 1%, but still, we have definitely seen worse!

Median Sales Price:

The Median Sales Price is down again and quite a bit off of last year, but this is simply the effect of low priced foreclosure sales. THIS POST shows that quite clearly for the month of June. In order for the housing market to recover, the price of houses does not necessarily have to increase. The number of houses selling does!

Average Days on Market:

The Average Days on Market for Carroll County has leveled off with last year`s number. Hopefully this is the beginning of it settling down a bit and dropping!

Absorption Rate:

And, most importantly, the Absorption Rate. I absolutely feel that this is the most important number to look at, and the rate is down across the entire state! The rankings have not changed… Carroll and Coos still lead the pack with 28.5 and 27.4 months, and Hillsborough is still the lowest with an almost-respectable 12.9! Maybe we will see a single digit rate in a few months… ?

Absorption Rate over Time:

Overall, the July 2009 statistics for New Hampshire are …ok! It will certainly be interesting to see what August brings.

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.

Good news all around!

Michelle — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 10:22:37 +0000

It has been a pretty good week! I got to spend a long weekend soaking up the rays at the beach in beautiful Narragansett, RI, got to take the munchkin to the zoo for the first time, AND there is good real estate news everywhere!

After a few days away my Google Reader was chock full of news. There was lots of New Hampshire news, lots of cloth diapering reviews and advice, lots of yummy new recipes to try, and of course lots of real estate news. And, surprise surprise, the real estate news was mostly good!

I am a very firm believer that media played a large role in the crumble of the local housing market over the past few years. It is true that there are lots of foreclosures that are bringing values down, it is true that a great many people are upside down in their homes. However, up here in New Hampshire, the foreclosures did not really hit until the past year or so. Historically speaking, we here in New Hampshire are a bit `behind the times` when it comes to the market… our market rises a bit after and a bit slower than other areas, and drops the same way. I believe that before our prices had to start dropping, they did because everyone expected them to. Watching the doom and gloom news every night, reading it every morning in the paper… you see what is happending in California and Florida and you expect no less outside your front door.

Anyway, it appears as the opinion of mass media might be about to turn around! Realty Times is reporting good news about the housing market, the Boston Globe is reporting good news about the housing market, Business Day is reporting good news about the global market! Whoa!

Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come. The more confidence buyers have in the market, the more likely they are to buy. The more buyers that buy, the more stable the market will become. Mass media has an incredible hold on the opinions of the general public, so if they are starting to crack a smile, we just might be heading in the right direction!

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

June Homes Sold – A Study

Michelle — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:09:28 +0000

Today I am in a numbers mood. So… I thought I would play with stats. As it is the last day of July, this month`s numbers are not quite complete, so I used June.

This following shows the June numbers for the last five years. The important numbers are the median price, the number of sales, and the total sales volume.

The number of sales is down 37% from June 2005 to June 2009, while the sales volume is down 45%. Looking a little closer at those sales numbers…

Sales up to $100,000 – UP 166%
Sales $100K – $200K – DOWN 32%
Sales $200K – $300K – DOWN 60%
Sales $300K – $400K – DOWN 22%
Sales $400,000 and up – DOWN 47%

The incredible jump of homes less than $100,000 is foreclosures. No doubt about it. And the $200,000 – $300,000 homes have taken the brunt of the downturn, which is pretty evident when you look at recent activity. Take real estate sales in Tuftonboro, for example. There are currently 40 properties on the market between $200,000 and $300,000, and only one lonely pending sale. Over the past 12 months, there have been four sales in this price range. Compare those figures with the $300,000 – $400,000 price range, with only 13 active listings, one pending sale, and seven sales in the past year.

The good news? If you are a buyer and are looking in the $200,000 – $300,000 price range, you certainly have the pick of the litter! If you are a seller (like one of my clients), well, competition is tough. BUT, homes are selling. Price it right and make sure your agent is advertising on the internet and is there for all showings. The summer selling season has really just begun!

CustomNHHome.com

Michelle — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:11:15 +0000

I am a self-proclaimed nerd, and I love to tweak my websites. In my mind I have plans for…oh…at least a dozen more sites. The only thing delaying me is that whole `26 hours of work to do in this 24 hour day` thing comes into play, as well as my completely self-taught `skills` (*ahem*) of web design and code writing.

This past week I did manage to get up a new website about one of my favorite listings, 595 Maple Grove Road in Madison NH. This home was built in 2001 with all the nice perks like radiant heat in the flooring, central vacuum and high end kitchen appliances. However, walking in it has the look and the feel of a wonderful older home. From the custom cabinetry with punched tin accents and a soapstone sink in the kitchen to the two Rumford fireplaces and the charming screened porch, this house is just lovely. I do not use the term `lovely` very often, but it is indeed the term that comes to mind when I show this house.

Check out the website at www.CustomNHHome.com and let me know what you think!

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That needle in a haystack

Michelle — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:42:12 +0000

Sometimes it feels like finding the right buyer for a property is like finding a needle in a haystack…

I have had one particular lot of land on the market for almost a year now. Land usually takes longer to sell than a residential home anyway, but I have had so much activity on this lot… at least a few calls or emails a week (which is quite a bit!), but nobody serious enough to make an offer. Usually if a property is shown a number of times and there are no offers, we have to assume that there is a pricing problem. In this case, though, the price is not the issue.

This lot is a very unique lot. A total of about 13 acres, smack dab in the middle of a few hundred acres of conservation land. The lot includes a logging road almost a mile long, 50 feet of frontage on Ossipee Lake, and hundreds of feet of frontage on both sides of the Bearcamp River. And…did I mention the conservation land? It is surrounded the `Bearcamp Woodlands`, a conservation area maintained by the New England Forestry Fund. It is a fabulous property.

What you can not do, though, is build on this lot. Maybe in the future you will be able to when they develop a super clean and tiny and effective septic system and they relax the NH Shoreline Protection Act. But for now (unless you know someone very important and really enjoy jumping though hoops)… you can not.

So, as I was saying, I have been getting a lot of activity on this lot. Mostly buyers – unrepresented buyers – who assumed they could build on the lot. If the buyer was represented by an agent, the agent would have been able to see that the lot would not support a septic and would be able to explain to them the Shoreline Protection Act and all of the red tape involved with building on or even remotely near the water these days. Do you think, really, that a 13 acre waterfront lot priced at $79K is not going to have some sort of issue?

I have always known that this lot will make an incredible camping spot, vacation spot, get-away-from-reality spot for one lucky family. River frontage where the river is wide, crystal clear, and deep, perfect for swimming. Lake frontage with views into a Loon Sanctuary. And, of course, amazing privacy. LUCKILY, though, I do think I have found the perfect buyers…(or more accurately…they found me!).

You do not know how happy it makes me that these folks are realistic about the lot. They know they will never subdivide. They know they will never built a mansion. They know they may never be able to build at all. They know that locals have been walking down this logging road for generations, and are probably still going to no matter what . They are exciting about finding that perfect camping spot for family weekends and campfires and (hopefully) lot of s`mores! They are realistic and excited about what they are getting – and that could not make me happier.

13 Acres, frontage on both Ossipee Lake and the Bearcamp River!

Wolfeboro in Budget Travel Magazine!

Michelle — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 21:19:24 +0000

I am amazed every time one of our little local towns gets national attention! Wolfeboro does get the majority of it, I admit, but for good reason! This time in was featured in Budget Travel magazine in an article about wonderful summer lake towns. We all know that Wolfeboro is the Oldest Summer Resort in America!

Summer Lake Towns – Budget Travel

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