Portsmouth NH Real Estate Agent - Rebecca Skane, Realtor®, e-PRO®

The following report consists of all residential sales (single family homes, condominiums and mobile homes) in Portsmouth, NH.

In February of 2009, the average selling price for a home in Portsmouth was $326,080, up quite a bit from the average selling price of $267,812 from the previous month. The reason for this HUGE variance is simply because of the number of listings sold. When so few homes are being sold, it is difficult for a real average sales price to be determined. Still, we can all take a little pride and smile when we see this huge price increase. The market isn't dead. No, it certainly isn't dead at all.

Only five homes were sold in portsmouth last month. This is less than the eight homes sold last month and the 12 homes sold the same time last year.

Now before you start fretting while looking at the above graph, take a look at the market report for all of New Hampshire. The number of homes sold in February BLOWS AWAY the total number of homes sold in January. It is amazing! So why did Portsmouth have so few homes sold? Most likely, the homes are not being priced correctly for the market. There are a ton of buyers out there, but they are only willing to pay market price for a home, not much more than that, and many of the homes are overpriced in Portsmouth. This is the only reason for the shortfall in Portsmouth.

The absorption rate at the end of February, 2009 for residential units is: 132.6 weeks. This rate is the number of weeks it would take to sell the entire inventory of residential homes at the present rate of sales.

Market Report for Residential Sales (Single Family Homes, Condos and Mobiles)

An upswing? The average home price in Portsmouth, NH in January rose just slightly from $260,790 during the previous month to $267,812, a 2.7% increase. As expected, the market price was down from January, 2008. But could we be seeing a climb? After all, this increase in median home price occurred in what is normally a poor month for real estate, generally speaking. On the other side, it is hard to really see a median price when the number of units sold was so low. For example, if one home sold for $2mm, while the rest sold for around $200,000 and there were only 8 sold, the median price would be drastically skewed.

The next graph brings us back to reality, but still shows promise. We see that eight homes were sold in Portsmouth in January, down from 10 in December. In the grand scheme of things, this isn't a huge drop. But we do see that the numbers have dropped by more than 50% from the same time last year. Why? Consumer confidence.

At the end of the month, there were around 150 listings on the market. The absorption rate would be ~81 weeks. The absorption rate is the length of time it would take at the current rate of sales for all of the current inventory to be sold.

January is normally a slower month for real estate, but properties are still moving. If the first graph tells us anything, it is that things can and will get better! Buyers...don't wait another minute. Now is the time for action!

You can also follow this link to see the Market Report for all of New Hampshire.

I have been getting many calls and emails from eager buyers looking for their first home, an upgrade or investment property and they are all looking for the same thing......A DEAL. They want the REO (a bank owned piece of real estate) or the short sale (a pre-foreclosure). I figure out the specifics of what they are looking for, and then I do a little search.

Did you know that you can also do a search for them yourself? I will show you how. Sometimes they are not easy to find, but there are some tips and tricks.

Here is a search engine which allows you to search NNEREN, the NH MLS System: NNEREN

First, pick the towns you want to search in. Keep the rest of the search parameters blank. You will want to allow for the most possible matches. Short sales and REOs are not as abundant as regular listings. At the bottom of the search box you will notice the "keyword" selection. This is where the magic happens. There are a few choice words you can use one at a time to see if you find any matches.

To find short sales, use the keyword: "short sale".

Well that was a no-brainer. Most home owners who need to have a short sale want as many people to see the listing as possible, so they make it easy to find.

Bank owned properties are not always as easy to locate. To find an reo, there are a couple of different terms you can use, one at a time: "as is", "bank owned", "bank addendum", "bank", "reo", "foreclosure". Not all of the properties which display will be REOs. You will have to read the description and/or ask an agent for more information.

When you find a property you are interested in, give me a call. I will have a viewing arranged for you. Also, you may not be able to find all of the potential bank owned properties yourself. I can do additional searches by using more keyword searches in fields which only real estate agents can see and use.

Rebecca Skane

603.610.8944

rskane@kw.com

I believe I forgot to post our January meeting on Active Rain. This month we read The Poisonwood Bible and enjoyed a lively discussion of the famous novel at our usual place of libations and stimulating conversation, The Coat Of Arms in downtown Portsmouth.

My Portsmouth Book Club has hit the 100 member mark! As I am writing this, we now have 107 members! It is a milestone!

Next month we will be discussing The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett which is a book in my all time top five favorite books. However, the group chose the book, I did not. This is one of my favorite books but I admit, it will be a formidable task to take on such a hearty book for a light and friendly book club. This book is not exactly "light reading". It is a monster, a thousand-pager in type 6 font. So if you are going to come next month, you will want to start reading it now!

You don't have to finish the book to enjoy book club, not at all! And I expect many people not to finish this book. If you do not finish it, expect spoilers at the meeting.

So what is The Pillars of the Earth about? Oh man, what is it not about? The story is historical fiction and revolves around the building of a large Cathedral. There are plots and sub plots, murder, rape, witchcraft, execution, love, romance, and Good Vs. Evil at its absolute best. Ken Follett is one of my favorite authors, he excels at historical fiction but the real difference between him and other historical fiction writers is the fact that Ken can write about ANY time period. Most authors stick to one time period, Mr. Follet can make any time period and location come to life in your mind perfectly. I loved The Key to Rebecca, a WWII spy novel, for example. Great stuff.

I hope to see you there! Please check out out home page: The Portsmouth Book Club

For first time home buyers in New Hampshire, there could be no better time than now to lock in a sweet deal on new construction or another first home because of the market prices.

Last Friday, I represented the buyers and closed on a newly constructed home in Epping, priced at $60k below the assessed value. These buyers were a young couple with steady jobs. They have two children, both under the age of two. They had been living in a one bedroom apartment when they realized if they were ever going to make a change, as scary as it might be, now was the time to go for it. So they gave me a call and after assessing their financial status and looking at several properties with them, we closed on a new home in record time.

They went from a one bedroom sublet, to a six bedroom castle, attached garage, beautiful kitchen, and an upstairs laundry room. When they were handed the keys at the closing, they were fighting back tears.

Their first new home. Imagine how it feels.

If you would like to take advantage of these rare market conditions, please give me a call. I would love represent you as your buyer's agent and get you in your first new home.

Rebecca Skane

Office 603.610.8944

Cell 617.233.2900

rskane@kw.com

http://www.newhampshirereal-estate.com