The housing market in the Amherst NH area was down in 2008. The market saw some stabilization at the beginning of 2008 through summer. Not to say the market was good, but at least prices were not falling drastically.
Sold prices in the area were flat, the asking price to sell price ratio was stable, days on market was stable. All good signs of the market perhaps getting some support and getting some balance.
Unfortunately, late 2008 brought more bad news for the economy. Job losses and news that American auto manufacturers were in deep trouble seems to have triggered another drop in the housing market. October brought continued price declines, the difference between asking price and sold price widened, and days on market increased dramatically. All signs of a housing market that was worsening.
More value was lost this year in the Amherst area as we suffered a 6% drop in home prices, most of that loss occurring in the last 3 months of 2008.
On the bright side, pending home sales in December kept up with the number from a year ago and there was an increase in buyer interest in December. Interest rates are low, at least for now, and gas prices have stayed low, lingering around $1.70 a gallon. Oh...and we have a new president, which should, at the very least, change peoples outlook on the future. At this point, change is good. We need a change.
The concern now is inflation. With all the money that is to be pumped into the economy to prop it up, inflation is sure to increase. That means interest rates will follow. So the question is....are prices low enough for those buyers that have been waiting to purchase a home ready to do so. If they wait too long they may find interest rates are higher, offsetting any potential drop in house prices.
I have also published a Property sales report for New Hampshire for 2008.
Market Notables
- Single family home sales for the month of December 2008 are down 20% from 2007.
- Year to date sales of single family homes in the area are down 16% from last year.
- The average price per square foot of a home sold in December of 2008 was $147/sf. Down ~8.6% from a year ago ($161). Prices continued their decline in October.
- The average number of days it took to sell a home in December of 2008 was 185 days. 4% longer than last year which was at 178 days.
- The number of homes on the market in December 2008 was 573 homes. This is about 18% fewer than in 2007.
This data is based on information from the Northern New England Real Estate Network for the periods shown for the towns of Amherst, Bedford, Brookline, Francestown, Greenfield, Greenville, Hollis, Lyndeborough, Mason, Merrimack, Milford, Mont Vernon, Temple, and Wilton.
The data is for the sale of single family homes and exclude condominiums and mobile homes.
This data does not represent all sales. Some sales are not reported through the Multiple Listing Service.
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