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2009 - Half way there... Lakes Region of NH Real Estate Market Report

By
Real Estate Agent with Four Season Sotheby's International Realty

There was a little more sales activity in the residential home market in the Lakes Region of NH in June with 75 units changing hands at an average sales price of $266,119. That is up from the 69 homes sold in May 2008 but down slightly from the 77 homes sold in June of 2008. The average sales price this June came in at $266,119 which is down considerably from last June's average sales price of $344,228.

The total number homes that sold in the first six months of 2009 dropped by only 8 units from last year down to 151 transactions but the average sales price dropped from $363,752 to $254,071! That is a 30% decrease in the average sales price and it is about the same average we were back in 2002. Residential Sales Comparison for January through June

 

2002

2003

2004

2005

Units sold / 6 months

513

480

552

493

Average Sales Price

$254,076

$246,188

$316,724

$328,824

Days on Market

103

88

106

112

 

2006

2007

2008

2009

Units sold / 6 months

472

394

314

306

Average Sales Price

$362,485

$389,118

$363,753

$254,071

Days on Market

127

142

159

151

The drop in the average sales price so far this year is pretty dramatic. Homes are certainly selling for less than in the peak market, but a lot of this decrease seems to be reflective of the shift in the market with regard to what is actually selling. There is a larger number of lower priced homes selling and far fewer high end sales. In the first half of 2008 there were 20 homes that sold over the $1 million mark compared to just 6 so far this year. Sales of million dollar plus homes in the 1st half of 2008 represented a dollar volume of $36.15 million compared to just $8.9 million in 2009. That is a $27.2 million drop in total dollar volume that equates to a drop in the average sales price by almost $79,000 per home.

Mid priced homes stayed pretty much the same in terms of units sold. There were 37 homes in the $400 to $1 million range that sold in the 1st half of 2008 compared to 33 this year. Home sales in the $300-400,000 range remained consistent with 31 sold in the 1st half of last year and 30 sold so far this year. These totals aren't great, as anyone trying to sell a home in these price ranges will attest to, but at least they didn't get much worse.

There was a pretty good drop in the $200-300,000 price range with 106 homes selling in the 1st half of 2008 compared to 67 in so far this year. I would bet that many of the homes in the low $200,000 price range adjusted their prices to below $200,000 mark in order to find a buyer. This along with flood of bank owned properties on the market would account for the increased sales under $200,000. There were 170 homes that sold under $200,000 in the first half of 2009 compared to 119 in for the same period last year.

If we have a great waterfront sales season the average price will probably increase considerably. That, unfortunately, doesn't really mean much. What we really need is a renewed confidence, a strong economy, and stability in the job markets which would in turn give the many apprehensive would-be home buyers sitting on the fence the confidence to pursue their dream home regardless of the price range. That will take a little more time than one summer sales season...

Residential Homes Sold June 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

9

0

2

4

2

1

$292,656

$250,000

95%

193

BARNSTEAD

7

2

4

0

1

0

$152,414

$140,000

97%

141

BELMONT

7

2

2

2

1

0

$189,686

$182,500

95%

171

CENTER HARBOR

1

0

0

0

0

1

$400,000

$400,000

95%

481

GILFORD

6

1

1

3

0

1

$280,793

$227,500

93%

132

GILMANTON

7

0

3

3

0

1

$204,771

$201,000

94%

167

LACONIA

12

2

8

1

0

1

$182,162

$155,500

96%

106

MEREDITH

7

0

2

2

2

1

$277,057

$295,000

94%

164

MOULTONBORO

10

0

1

2

1

6

$539,600

$485,000

92%

124

NEW HAMPTON

3

0

1

2

0

0

$206,633

$215,000

94%

177

SANBORNTON

2

0

0

2

0

0

$276,500

$276,500

92%

60

TILTON

4

1

2

0

1

0

$179,475

$146,500

93%

278

TOTALS

75

8

26

21

8

12

$266,119

$209,900

94%

157

 

Compiled using the NNEREN MLS System

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