New Hampshire economic fundamentals continue to be good indicators that housing will remain a sound long-term investment in the State of New Hampshire.
Peter Francese, Director of Demographic Forecasts for the New England Economic Partnership. points to the housing market in the past 10 years to illustrate the point that buying a home is still a good long term investment. (See chart 1 below). Francese points out that “a home is both a place of your own to live in and, if you take care of it, a fine long-term investment.”
Chart 1 shows the 10-year trend in number of owned homes from the Census Bureau and the inflation-adjusted selling price trends for each NH county. From 2000 to 2010, home prices increased at a rate that exceeded inflation in every county in New Hampshire ~ and rose by double-digits in nine out of 10 counties.
Francese further points out that on average, a New Hampshire home purchased in 2000 increased 50 percent in nominal dollars and 19 percent in real inflation-adjusted dollars by 2010. These increases occurred despite the unprecedented decline in home values during the last half of the decade.
While the recent economic climate causes uncertainty, Francese remains confident that the fundamentals for a healthy real estate market in NH are still at play. He reassures New Hampshire home buyers “ there can be no doubt about this fundamental point: a dwelling purchased in New Hampshire in 2010 or 2011 will both provide the buyer with a home and increase in value over the next decade, just as it did in the last decade. Count on it.”
The state of New Hampshire is better off than many states. This fact along with the growing population of millenials bode well for the future of the housing market. As the millenials form households and if they stay or relocate to New Hampshire, then both homes sales and prices will be on the rise.
Chart 2 shows the number of renters and owners by age…. There are over 81,000 young adult households under age 35 in New Hampshire and only 39 percent are homeowners. (Down from 41 percent found in the 2000 Census.)
In total, there are 368,000 homeowners in New Hampshire, up 11 percent since 2000. Over 100,000 of those homeowners (27.5 percent) have no mortgage. In addition, there are about 150,000 renters, up 5 percent since 2000.
Every year, between 10,000 and 15,000 young adults will graduate from one of New Hampshire’s 30 colleges and universities. Those who decide to stay here will mostly be today's renters, but tomorrow's first time homebuyers. At the same time, the fast-growing ages 55 to 64 homeowners will be in the prime time to buy their second home, or their retirement home.
While the future is difficult to predict, Francese feels confident that “the underlying economic fundamentals are in place in New Hampshire and we should start preparing for the coming period of housing market recovery."
Source: Census Bureau and New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority (Chart 1); Census Bureau (Chart 2).
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The interest rates continue to be at historically low rates and the inventory and pricing is advantageous to Buyers. Sellers who prepare their homes and price them for the current market conditions are able to sell their homes. If you would like to know if it is a good time to buy a home or to sell, please contact me and I will be happy to assist ~ 603-566-1715 or email RealEstateAgentNH@gmail.com.
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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. Joan Whitebook (c) 2011, BHG the Masiello Group, Andrew White Managing Broker. Licensed in NH Photos Copyright © 2011 By Joan Whitebook, can be used with written permission only. Portions of Post excerpted by permission of Peter Francese and NHAR.
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