Roy Sanborn --Lakes Region of New Hampshire

So what does it take to sell your house in this market?

Better yet, what does it take to sell your home quickly in this market? Since January 1, there were a total of 18 residential homes that have sold in 20 days or less in the Lakes Region of NH Market Report towns(all of Belknap County plus Moultonborough). Twenty days or less is pretty darn quick! ( I'm really talking about how long it takes to get a buyer to sign on the dotted line here---not the total time to actually transfer the property) Is there anything in common with these listings to make them sell so fast?

The first five on the list were all bank owned properties and sold for $125,000 or less. So chalk those up to a bargain basement prices. I'm not sure if they were really bargains or not but a cheap asking price brings buyers regardless. There was one other bank owned in water access property in Moultonborough that sold for $345,000 which was actually more than the asking price of $299,900. Multiple bids resulted in a much higher than asking sales price. In other words, someone saw the value and was willing to pay for it.

There were four listings that sold between $100,000 and $200,000 that were all private sales and were at or below assessed values. Three homes that found buyers very quickly were in the $200,000 to $300,000 price range. Two were water access properties in very nice condition. The property at 49 Joanna St. in Moultonborough sold for $207,000 which was $83,000 less than the assessed value. The other water access property was a charming log cabin with water views and beach rights to Kanasatka. There was also one older home in downtown New Hampton that was listed at $259,000, sold for $210,000, and was assessed at $261,210.

The next two homes on the list sold in 6 days and 12 days...kind of. Both of these homes had been listed previously. One property at 385 Lower Bay Rd in Sanbornton had been on the market since 2007 and had been listed for as high as $629,900. This 1789 vintage farmhouse on 61 acres of land had a motivated seller. When the property was re-listed at the reduced price of $487,000, a deal was put together in just 12 days for $450,000. The other home in South Down Shores at 88 Crimson Drive seemed like a good deal at $379,000 when it was listed last year and was an even better deal at a reduced price of $349,000. When the owner agreed to a potential lower offer the expired listing was revived and a deal quickly struck at $315,000.

At the top end of the list were two very nice waterfronts in Moultonborough. The property at 63 Black Cat Island Rd was originally offered at $999,000 but was sold for $825,000 in just 17 days. The property is assessed for $943,000. Good deal, quick sale. Over at 251 Eagle Shore a $1.8 million, 4500 sq ft estate with 100 feet of frontage sold in 4 days for $1.65 million! So high end properties can sell quickly too.

Are there any common threads here? One. No, not price: value. Value is created when a price is set on a property that makes it desirable to buyers. No matter what the home or price range is, if buyers can see that they are receiving real value in exchange for the money paid they will likely make a purchase quicker. Fear of losing a good deal can be a great motivator. It also helps to have desirable features such as water access or a view to help enhance the value but obviously we aren't all that lucky. So if you really need to sell your property and you can afford to lower the price so that you can be the best value in town you should do so. If you can't adjust the price then you need to look at how you can create more perceived value in your property by making it the absolute best that it can be for potential buyers. Today's buyers are definitely looking for value.

DOM or DOB?

There were 50 residential homes that changed hands in April of 2009 in our Lakes Region of NH list of towns. That is up a little from the 46 that sold in April of 2008, so at least we are holding our own in total unit sales. The average sales price in April 2009 dropped compared to last April from $419,219 to $266,598. The median sales price also dropped from $245,100 to $190,000. This can be mostly attributed to more lower priced homes selling this year compared to last. Sales of homes under $200,000 almost doubled with 28 homes changing hands in April of 2009 compared to just 15 in April 2008. Mid-range home sales, those between $200-400,000, are down with 15 homes sold this April compared to the 22 recorded last year. The average "Days on Market", or the average time that it took to sell a home, in April came in at 133 days which was virtually unchanged from last year.

So what does the statistical term "Days on Market" (DOM) mean? This number refers to the average of how long a property has been on the market or how long it took to sell a home depending on which report you look at. This number is actually somewhat inaccurate as it only represents the number of days a property has been on the market with the current real estate agency. Many properties have been listed for sale several times with different agencies. Some listings come off the market and come back on the market six months or a year later. Our MLS system has no way to calculate the DOM for all the times a property has been offered for sale and therefore the actual DOM would be higher, especially in these tough times.

What would be really interesting is if there was actually a way to track every buyer that goes out looking at homes from start to finish just like the MLS system tracks housing sales. I would venture a guess that the DOB (no, not "date of birth", let's call it "Days Out Buying") for all the people that are shopping for a home would be more than the DOM numbers in our reports. Tracking buyers is never likely to happen, but who ever thought that the US Government would be selling Chryslers. A lot of focus is put on things from the seller's perspective, but a "Days Out Buying" statistic should be pretty revealing and would show how much time your local REALTORS® spend to help buyers purchase their new home.

So while an average Days Out Buying statistic would be interesting, there is nothing average about any buyer. Just like the homes that they look at every buyer is unique. Buyers all have different motivations, needs, and timelines. Some know exactly what and where they want to be, some think they know but change their minds five times before they buy, some don't have a clue, some can be totally unrealistic, and unfortunately (at least for the agents involved) some are only dreamers, tire kickers, or just plain curious. Buyers can be deliberate and methodical, or on again off again, and many will never buy anything anywhere on this planet. While all these statistics can used to measure how well the market is doing, they never can quite measure the complexities of what a real estate transaction is all about and the different personalities and motivations on the buyer and selling sides. Only REALTORS® can do that...

Residential Homes Sold April 2009

TOWN	# S0LD	< 100K	100 to 200K	200 to 300K	300 to 400K	> 400K	AVG SELLING PRICE	MEDIAN SALES PRICE	% SOLD TO LIST $$	AVG DOM
ALTON	7	1	3	2	1	0	$185,414	$180,000	88%	113
BARNSTEAD	4	3	1	0	0	0	$83,333	$81,000	97%	122
BELMONT	1	0	0	0	1	0	$375,000	$375,000	83%	264
CENTER HARBOR	1	0	1	0	0	0	$171,500	$171,500	95%	203
GILFORD	9	0	6	0	1	2	$312,211	$180,000	91%	218
GILMANTON	2	1	0	0	0	1	$381,000	$381,000	96%	114
LACONIA	8	2	3	2	1	0	$172,984	$148,488	92%	56
MEREDITH	6	0	3	0	1	2	$313,050	$256,698	96%	118
MOULTONBORO	7	0	2	1	2	2	$480,571	$337,000	92%	121
NEW HAMPTON	2	0	1	1	0	0	$197,500	$197,500	101%	154
SANBORNTON	2	0	0	2	0	0	$228,150	$228,150	91%	112
TILTON	1	1	0	0	0	0	$102,800	$102,800	108%	183
TOTALS	50	8	20	8	7	7	$266,598	$190,000	92%	133

Report compiled using the NNEREN MLS system.

Black Flies and More Listings It is May and black flies are multiplying. So are the listings. We are up to 1083 residential listings in the Lakes Region of NH. That is up from the 900 homes available back in January but only slightly more than last May which came in at 1064. There are 287 homes available under $200,000 compared to on 203 last May, so there is a definite trend toward more lower priced homes on the market with many of those being bank owned properties. The number of high end homes on the market has dropped about 7% with 516 homes currently available over the $300,000 price point compared to 553 last May.

The National Association of REALTORS® compares a number of factors including home costs, mortgage rates, and family income and calculates a Home Affordability Index. The higher the index number, the more affordable the housing is in that area. On a national level, the index stood at 166.7 in March which is near an all time high. That number has improved from the 135.9 rating in March of 2008 and 107.6 in 2006. Housing in the Northeast has always been a little more expensive than the South or the Midwest so it really is no surprise that our index rating would reflect that. In March we came in at 136.1 or well below the national average in affordability. Back in March of 2008 the index rating was even worse at 101.4. So while housing in the Northeast may not be quite as affordable as other places we are at least headed in the right direction. Since mortgage rates aren't likely to go lower, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that in order for houses to be more affordable either prices have to drop or you need to get a sizeable raise. I'm betting there may be no raise in your future given these hard economic times so prices will have to come down some in order to improve our rating. But there are some great deals on housing out there in every market. That coupled with the $8,000 tax credit for first time buyers has resulted in first time buyers coming in to the market in relative droves. They accounted for 53% of the transactions nationwide in March. That's the good news, we just need more of it. Hopefully the trend will continue, especially around here...

The Lakes Region Residential View Contest will end next week, so if you live in a home with a view send a photo of it along with your contact information to my attention at Roche Realty Group or email me at rsanborn@rocherealty.com. I'll post them at http://www.lakesregionhome.com/ and on May 13^th we will pick the best view submitted. Judges will be Jen Serrano from Wells Fargo Mortgage, Wanda Keenan from Paramount Title, and Sheryl Foss from Image Appraisals. The winner will receive $100.00.

Residential Homes Available May 2009

Data obtained from the NNEREN MLS system on 5/3/09

Everyone knows that one of the most important aspects of selling a property is its location. You can change a lot about a property but you can't change where it is. Obviously that location has a name; the street address. How important is the street address in terms of selling a property? Probably not very, except for being able to find the house that is. It is just a name. But, it is interesting and sometimes amusing to look at some of the street names in the Lakes Region of NH. Street names have many different origins and purposes. Some names tell you something about the location, the history of the area, some famous (or infamous) settler, a landmark, or where you are headed. Some names like Paradise, Tranquility, or Serenity Lane seem like they were devised just to promote the locale.

There is probably an Oak, Elm, Birch, Maple, School, North or South, Winter or Spring, Pleasant, Cottage, Reservoir, or Main St in every town (except Gilmanton, it doesn't have a Main St or a full time year-round tax paid library, so I‘ve heard). Animal street names are also popular. I understand having Moose Walk, Fox Hollow Rd, Fish Cove Rd, Deer Dr, Deerhaven Rd, Deer Run, Deer Crossing, Bear Pond Rd, Beaver Dam Rd, Cat Path, Cat Alley, Loon Cove Rd, Chipmunk Circle, Irish Setter Lane, Eagle Shore Rd, or Falcon Way. But why Leopard's Leap, Panther Path, and Tiger Trail? Just trying to confuse or scare the tourists?

You can't help but realize that we are in Indian Country. With lakes named Winnisquam, Winnipesaukee, Squam, Wicwas, Pemigewasset and Waukewan it is pretty clear who lived here before us. Indian names have also carried over into street names in many communities. In Gilmanton we have Warbonnet Lane, Arrowhead Lane, Abanaki Path, and Mocassin Path. Moultonborough has Winaukee Rd, Iroquois Lane, and Wakonda Rd. Laconia has Winnisquam Ave and Weirs Boulevard and Meredith has Waukewan Ave, Sachem Cove, Winona Shores, and Wotanda Lane to name a few. I believe these streets and lakes were named so we could tell the locals from the flatlanders that can't seem to pronounce them.

You might think twice about living on some streets if only from the perspective of having to actually write them as your return address. Addresses like Moonshine St., Tee Dee Dr, and Grimstone Dr. in Belmont, Ta Da Dump Road in Holderness, Bumfagen Rd or Bee Hole Rd in Loudon, might seem amusing at first but who is going to take you serious? Do you think living on Poor Farm Road in Gilford or Pot O'Beans Rd in Moultonborough might help on your tax return? I actually like the sound of living on Easy Street in Moultonborough, but I'd have to go down Shaker Jerry Rd. Was Jerry really a Shaker or where did this name come from? Somebody out there knows.

Can you tell anything about the housing in an area by a street name? Probably not conclusively, but you can tell some things. Obviously, streets on the waterfront roads often have the word "shore", "harbor", "cove" or some reference to water in the street name. But a house can be miles from the water on some streets. One waterfront address that is known pretty well around here is Edgewater Drive on Governor's Island in Gilford. The average sale for the past 3 years on that street comes in at $2.6 million. That street address is one that certainly does tell you a lot! View properties could be located on streets that include Mountain, Ridge, View, Vista, Heights, or Hill as part of the address. But there is no hill on Hill St in Tilton. It is as flat as a pancake, plus you're on the water on that street. Then there is Pancake Hill Rd in Gilmanton. Go figure.

The Lakes Region Residential View Contest is underway so if you live in a home with a view send a photo of it along with your contact information to my attention at Roche Realty Group or email me at rsanborn@rocherealty.com. Yes, waterfront views are also views! I'll post them at http://www.lakesregionhome.com/ and on May 13^th we will pick the best view submitted. Judges will be Jen Serrano from Wells Fargo Mortgage, Wanda Keenan from Paramount Title, and Sheryl Foss from Image Appraisals. The winner will receive $100.00.

As billed, March did indeed go out like a lamb weather wise and sales wise with only 44 residential homes sold in the Lakes Region of NH. That total is 24% off from last March's tally of 58 homes. The average price of the homes sold in March was also down from $330,774 last March to $218,530 this March. The major reason for the drop in the average sales price is the fact that far fewer high end homes are selling. Of the 45 homes sold in March, 18 were bank owned properties and 3 were short sales.

The numbers for the 1st quarter of the year show that we are down about 11% from last year with respect to the total number of residential sales: 112 so far this year compared to 126 last. The average sales price for the 1st quarter came in at $237,480 compared to $356,812 last year. Again, this drop seems to be a function of fewer high end home sales. In the 1st quarter of 2008 there were nine homes that sold over $1 million compared to just two for the same period in 2009. The total gross sales volume in 2008 was $44.96 million compared to just $26.6 million this year. One good sign is that the average days on market has dropped from 132 last year to 112 this year signifying that some properties are moving just a little quicker.

A quick look at the 1st quarter condo market shows that there 19 units changed hands with an average sales price of $223,550 compared to 35 units sold in the 1st quarter of 2008 at an average sales price of $196,735. So even though the sales numbers were off 45%, the condo average sales price has held up better than the residential sector so far this year. There were only two bank owned condos sold and one short sale so far this year which seems to indicate that far fewer vacation home owners are in trouble. The same scenario holds true in the mobile home market where 1st quarter sales dropped from 13 in 2008 to 9 in 2009 but the average sales price rose from $33,262 to $43,332.

The Lakes Region Residential View contest is underway so if you live in a home with a view send a photo of it along with your contact information to my attention at Roche Realty Group or email me at rsanborn@rocherealty.com. Yes, waterfront views are also views! I'll post them at http://www.lakesregionhome.comand on May 13th an independent panel of judges (I promise, no tax assessors) will pick the best view submitted. The winner will receive $100.00.

Residential Sales March 2009

Data compiled using the NNEREN MLS system 4/13/09.