Looking at the homes sold report Alton NH Real Estate for the first six months of this year compared to the same time period for the last three years shows us the affordability index is up. In the first six months of 2008, 29 homes sold and in '09 were up 31% to 38. 2010 bumped up slightly to 40 homes but fell off sharply this year to 27. The average days on market for these periods were 181, 144, 121, and 174 respectively.

Looks like demand for Alton NH Homes and Condos was at it's highest in the first half of 2010. This seems strange because the Affordability Index appears to be at it's highest today. Looking at the Average sales prices in these periods we see 2008's average sales price was $436,656 and plunged 44% to $241,737. 2010's average sales price perked up 53% to $371,895 and seems to be leveling off in 2011 to $384,252. Here is the real kicker. Alton NH contains waterfront properties on Lake Wnnipesaukee that can really skew relative sales prices. Let's look more closely at Median sales prices or what I like to call the Affordability Index. The median sales price is the price in the middle of the data, in essence, 50% of the prices fall below the median price and 50% are above.

Median sales price in 2008 was $260,000 and fell 21% to $213,750 in 2009. Median price was pinging higher in 2010 to $224,250 and fell 9% so far this year to $205,000. So in the spirit of the Affordability Index, The lower the number the higher the affordability. Looks like Alton NH Homes are more affordable today. When you factor in that interest rates are as low as they can go, homes in Alton NH are more affordable, and the inventory of homes and condos is 176 units strong, it's a great time to buy.

About the Author: Marty Patrizi is a full service New Hampshire Realtor at Virtual Homes, Inc. and his emphasis is on "service". Marty works as a Buyer's Agent and a Listing Agent. Marty is also a building and renovation Contractor since 1988. As a buyer's agent, Marty's extensive construction experience puts him ahead of other buyer agents because he has the ability to determine value and costs related to repairs and updates needed. As a seller's agent, he knows that buyers come from searching on line and how to generate more qualified buyers through maximum exposure of his client's properties on the internet. Marty can be reached direct at 603-781-4099 or by email marty.patrizi@virtualhomes.com.

I have taken a little different approach with this Lakes Region Market Report for Alton and pulled together a 3 month tally of market activity from mid-May to mid-August. This will give you an idea of what kind of real estate activity we have seen here in the Lakes Region communities during the summer months of 2010.

During this period, Alton, NH has averaged 147 active listings. These listings have an average price of $701,624.00 with average Days on Market of 191 days. The price per square foot in Alton for this summer has averaged $282.00 for homes that have been listed.

Alton has averaged 13 contingent listings during this 3 month period. The contingent deals have had an avg. listed price of $514,669.00 and were on the market for 137 days. There are currently 13 pending units with an average price of $439,654.00 and Days on Market of 197. New listings averaged 67 units with a listing price of $482,922.00.

Now, what sold? There were 19 closed transactions during this period. The avg. listing price on these was $388,721.00 and the avg. selling price was $349,100.00. This gave us a List to Sell variance of $39,621.00 or a 90% List to Sell ratio.

As a wrap up, there were 13 listings that expired during this period with an average Days on Market of 226 days and we had 17 units come back on the makrket that had previously either been withdrawn or had expired. There were 10 listings that were withdrawn.

During the period of May 15, 2010 to August 16, 201, Alton, NH had $6,632,900.00 in real estate transactions.

If you're looking to buy or sell any real estate in Alton, NH I hope this Lakes Region Market Report gives you an idea of the activity that we had here this summer. You can check out current Alton Real Estate listings at my website www.LakesRegionNHHomes.com

In Alton in 2008 the median selling price for Lake Winnipesaukee real estate was $1,231,250 and the average selling price was $1,125,938. In 2009 the median selling price for Alton Lake Winnipesaukee real estate was $425,000 and the average selling price was $634,567. 13 of the 15 Alton Lake Winnipesaukee homes that sold were BELOW $1,000,000, quite a startling statistic. The only Alton lake Winnipesaukee home above $1,000,000 which sold in 2009 was 107 Clay Point, which sold for $3,200,000 (and was offered at $3,350,000).The average number of days on market in Alton was 166 in 2009 versus 232 in 2008. In 2008 5 of the 8 Alton Lake Winnipesaukee homes for sale, actually sold for above $1,000,000. To sum up these alton Lake Winnipesaukee statistics, selling prices were higher in 2008, while total number of homes sold almost doubled in 2009.

With the passage of our slurpy, squishy mud season we can see our driveway dry up, our walkway accessible just in time for the daffodils,hiacinths, and crosuses to crop up. What a long winter in more ways! Now we've seen an increase in lookers. Buyers seem more motivated and sellers more agreeable. Hurrah for sunshine and lollipops here in the Granite State!