New Hampshire Homes Sales UP - Mid-Year Market Report

I am happy to share some good news about the New Hampshire Real Estate Market as we head into the summer months!  

For the first half of 2012, the number of residential homes sold increased by double digites compared to 2011!

Peter Francese is a widely recognized New Hampshire demographics and consumer market expert.  The New Hampshire Association of REALTORS® has the benefit of his market reports and

Real Estate offices throughout Southern New Hampshire have been very busy and we started to "feel" that the market was changing.  The phones were ringing and buyers and sellers were closing on real estate transactions. 

    The Wall Street Journal, on July11th confirmed that "The housing market has turned - at last."  In New Hampshire Sales were up 20 percent over 2011, however, prices were lagging behind. 

        The good news for the New Hampshire real estate market is that for the first half of 2012, the number of residential homes sold increased by double digits compared to 2011 in every county.  Home sales prices were down 3% statewide for the same period in 2011 with the median selling price for those home below the first half of 2011 in seven of 10 New Hampshire Counties.  While the median selling rice for the first half of 2012 was $198,000 (which was $7,000 below last year) the total sales volume rose 16 percent to 1.4 Billion.  Francese points out that this shows "the striking difference between the change in median residential home selling price and the total selling volume."

        Several factors are holding the prices down, including the fact that the inventory of unsold homes may remain high for some time.  Francese points out another reason is that "home foreclosures are averaging about 340 per month so far this year and they are only 3 percent below the pace of last year.  They will be a drag on home prices until foreclosures return to a more normal level of somewhere below 150 a month." 

        Another reason for home prices lagging behind is that the "millennials" (households under age 35) are not as numerous in New Hampshire as in other states.  In addition, "Their lack of ability to buy a home can be traced to a nasty combination of much higher student debt and lower real wages than int he past.  And tighter lending standards have driven that ability even lower." states Francese.

        Finally, New Hampshire has an aging population. Francese reports that about one in four New Hampshire homeowners (approx 90,000) are at or near retirement age and there may not be a sufficient pool of millennials to buy their homes. 

     On the other hand, New Hampshire has a lot of positive trends which make New Hampshire a great place to live!   New Hampshire at 5 percent has the lowest unemployment rate in the northeast region and the sixth lowest in the United States.  Francese also points out that "while numerous business surveys rank our state high on the business-friendly scale, we always rank first in quality of life."    The Northern New England Real Estate Network data indicates the more than one-fifth of home sales statewide are to folks from other states.

New Hampshire was named the Most Livable State in America  (6th year in a row!)

New Hampshire is the Safest State in America, 2010

New Hampshire is  Third Healthiest State in America! 

New Hampshire is the Best place in the US for children to live!

The interest rates continue to remain at historically low rates, and pricing is advantageous to Buyers.  Sellers in Southern New Hampshire who prepare their homes and price them for the current market are selling their homes more quickly and in some cases, are getting multiple offers.  If you would like to know if it is a good time to buy or sell, please contact met and I will be happy to discuss how I might be able to assist YOU.  603-566-1715 or email RealEstateAgentNH@gmail.com.

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Portions of Peter Francese's report are included in this post with permission from The New Hampshire Association of REALTORS® and Peter Francese.   Also note Statistics are based on information from the Northern New England Real Estate Network (NNEREN) for the respective periods shown for the respective regions in the State of New Hampshire on all towns in the State of New Hampshire.  All analysis and commentary related to the statistics may be that of the New Hampshire Association of Realtors® and/or Peter Francese and not that of NNEREN.Copyright 2009-2012, 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.

Disclaimer: Information herein may come from various sources, some of which may not be reliable and may change without any notice. Joan Whitebook does not guarantee or is any way responsible for the accuracy of the information in this blog and information provided is without warranties of any kind, either express or implied. Information on this blog represents the opinions and ideas of the author; comments by others may not express the views of the author. "New Hampshire Homes Sales UP - Mid-Year Market Report" Copyright © 2012  By Joan Whitebook ~ all rights reserved