November in the Lakes Region turned cold and the residential home sales turned a little cold, too! But not frigid. There were 63 homes sold in the towns in this report at an average price of $365,623 compared to 72 last November at an average of $411,124. Most of the sales, 54%, continue to be under the $200,000 mark. On a rolling twelve month basis ending 11/30/10 we have had 782 home sales...

Buuurrr! It’s getting cold. There were ten sales in November of 2010 on Lake Winnibuuurrsaukee at an average price of $1.55 million and a median price of $1.645 million. The old lake is pretty consistent as there were 10 sales last November although the average was a little higher at $1.835 million and the median was just $925,000. What’s that mean? She’s consistent and cold (you just thought of your...

As of December 1 there were 1074 residential homes available in the Lakes Region towns covered in this report. The current total is down about 100 units from last month, but up 30 units from last December 1 and represents a 16.5 month inventory supply. The average asking price stood at $548,593 and the median price was $279,900. Just about 30% of the current inventory is under the $200,000, 30% over $400,000, and 60% in the mid-price ranges.

It’s the holiday shopping season so I thought...

OK, so the holiday shopping season starts off with Black Friday and now we have Cyber-Monday to boot! Crazy people are up at 4 a.m. running around the stores in the Lakes Region trying to find that special item to buy before they are all gone. I’m not sure which are the hottest items but I am sure there will be plenty of iPods, iPads, iPhones, flat screens, Xboxes, Wiis, Kindles (and some candles), Nooks,...

There were 68 residential home sales for the month of October in the communities in this Lakes Region market report. That is down a bit from the 73 posted last October. The average sales price was up significantly from the $271,339 last October to the $395,012 last month. This increase in the average sales price is due to a large waterfront sale rather than any surge in overall home pricing. On a rolling twelve month basis ending 10/31/10 there have been 791 homes sold at an average of $319,297...

The number of waterfront sales on Lake Winnipesaukee continued to improve over last year with eleven sales in October at an average sale price of $1.464 million compared to seven last October at an average price of $1.856 million. The total number of sales this year on the big lake stands at 77 with an average price of $1.214 million compared to 64 for the same period last year at an average of $1.36 million. Total sales are up about 20% over last year and the average price is up 17%. Not too bad...

The inventory level of homes for sale in the Lakes Region dropped just a bit in November. We are down from the 1244 homes available to 1178 as of November 1 with and average asking price of $559,403 and a median price of $284,450. That compares to 1146 homes on the market last November at an average asking price of $587,664 and a median price of $299,900. In November 2008 there were 1218 homes on the market at an average of $536,037 and a median of $299,000. The current inventory level represents...

The snarling dog that had chased my car for half a block stopped dead in his tracks when I turned into the driveway. This house seems like all the others I have seen lately. There are no lights on and it’s hard to see through the windows, the grass hasn’t been mowed for months, paint is peeling on the porch, and there is no sign of life; at least the kind we like to talk about. Going up the steps...

Activity in the Lakes Region real estate market seems to have picked up a little as we move into colder weather. Maybe the brisk weather has invigorated the buyers? September was a really great month with a 36% increase in the number of residential home sales over last September for those communities listed. There were 91 homes sold in our area last month at an average price of $263,411. Over half of...

We are three quarters of the way through 2010 already. Where did the summer go? There were eight waterfront sales (including island property) on Winnipesaukee in September 2010 at an average price of $941,938. That compares to ten sales last September with an average of just $735,390. For the first nine months of 2010 there were 67 sales at an average price of $1.155 million and an average time on market of 252 days. That is up from a total of 57 sales for the same period last year at an average...

There were 1246 residential homes for sale as of October 1, 2010 in the communities listed in this Lakes Region Real Estate Market Report. This total mirrors the tally from last October 1 at 1249. The average asking price of $569,141 is down from $604,125 last October as was the median asking price of $289,900 compared to $299,000. We dropped about a month’s worth of inventory and currently have...

There were 68 residential home sales in the Lakes Region of NH in the month of August at an average price of $409,283. Last August there were 67 sales at an average price of $359,836. On a rolling 12 month basis ending 8/31/10 we stand at 773 sales at an average price of $312,298 compared to 675 sales with an average price of $295,414 for the 12 month period ending 8/31/09. That is a 14.5% increase in the total number of sales and about a 6% increase in the average price.

Sales in...

August was another good month for Winnipesaukee waterfront sales with a total of fourteen homes that have happy new owners. The average sales price came in at $1.1 million for the month. Of these fourteen properties, three were island cottages with one on Pine Island (sold-$305,500), one on Mark (sold-$345,000) and a nice one on Camp Island (sold-$800,000). Sales in August mirrored August 2009 with the same total of fourteen at an average price of $1.09 million.

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There were only 1318 residential homes on the market as of September 1 in the Lakes Region of NH communities covered in this report. I am being a little sarcastic. That it is better than the 1344 available on August, but more than the 1291 last September 1st. This total represents 20.5 months worth of inventory which is still three times what it should be! I guess this must be the new norm.

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Wow! Lending institutions are making free money available to home buyers! Well, maybe not free, but it is about as close to free as you are probably ever going to get! FHA and conventional 30 year mortgages were at 4.375% when I checked the other day. A 15 year fixed rate was an unbelievable 3.75% and a 5/1 ARM was at 4.125%. These are really pretty extraordinary interest rates! It is also extraordinary, in a bad sort of way, that even with the relatively low home prices, buyers are not taking advantage...