Often times one can not see changes while in the middle of them and the real estate market is no different. After all if we all had a crystal ball we would all buy when the market is at it’s lowest and sell at it’s peak. Usually however we only know we’re at bottom when prices start to increase.

Busy streets in Hampstead NH

So what am I seeing on the streets? A lot of activity! Certain price ranges are moving very fast and seeing multiple offers. The condo market however is still very slow,  single family homes priced under 200k are very popular and inventory Bank owned homes have decreased although we’re told a new wave is coming in Sept/October.

Hampstead NH Absorption rate

This chart shows the absorption rate for the last 6 months of Hampstead NH  real estate. The slight increase in the last few months reflect listings added to the market but note the change of 11.4 % this is a good thing to see! This .chart reflects data to the end of May 2009

Additional reading:

What the heck is an Absorption rate and why should I care???

Hampstead NH- What is the real estate market doing?

disclaimer….

All reports presented are based on data supplied by the Massachussets Real Estate, Boston Real Estate and New Hampshire Real Estate or their MLSs. Neither the Associations nor its MLSs guarantee or are in anyway responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Associations or their MLSs may not reflect all real estate activities in the market. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. COPYRIGHT © TRENDGRAPHIX, INC

For those of you who visit our NH View Finder Photo blog you might have noticed some changes. Jay has been working on a new theme for the photo blog and I really love the new look. We added a bit of color to the page and after 2 years of a white background it is a welcome change. Check it out and let us know what you think.

http://www.nhviewfinders.com

Interested in having your photos published on NH View Finders?

We would love to publish your local pictures on our NH View Finder photo blog.  If your interested …just contact us and you might see your photo displayed on The New Hampshire View Finder. We would be honored and will of course give you full photo credit.

Rockingham County is rocking some real estate

I’ve decided to look back at the last 6 months of real estate market activity for Rockingham County. I know my immediate real estate market has been very busy in fact so busy that is has impacted my blogging time! I’m not complaining…bring it on! The Rockingham County real estate market is definitely rocking! This chart reflects residential real estate activity up to the end of May 2009.

Check April’s Trends report …Rockingham County Market Trends

*All reports are published Jun. 2009, based on data available at the end of May. 2009.
All reports presented are based on data supplied by the Massachussets Real Estate and New Hampshire Real Estate or their MLS. Neither the Associations nor their MLSs guarantee or are in anyway responsible for their accuracy. Data maintained by the Associations or their MLSs may not reflect all real estate activities in the market. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

This is an interesting article published by the New Hampshire Association of REALTORS that was written by Peter Francese. It talks about the aging of New Hampshire and the impact that has on home sales. It also covers April’s NH Market Trend Report. I’m a little bit late on reprinting it for you but trust me when I say the Southern NH real estate market has been very buys! It’s like someone just lit a fire under the real estate market.

Yeah baby …we’re getting older

Our state’s residents are changing, and it may impact home sales
—By Peter Francese
Well, we finally did it. According to the latest Census Bureau estimates, New Hampshire is now tied with Florida for the distinction of being the fourth oldest state in the nation.  Our median age went over 40 years old for the first time ever.

Here’s the 2008 top four lineup: Maine at 42.0, Vermont at 41.2, West Virginia at 40.6 followed by New Hampshire and Florida at 40.2 years old.  New Hampshire’s median age has risen three years since 2000, which is twice the nationwide increase of 1.5 years.

Chart I below shows why this is happening.  From 2000 to 2008, New Hampshire’s total population increased 6 percent, but in the same period the segment 55 to 64 jumped 50 percent, while the number of school-age children ages 5 to 17 declined by 7 percent.

The chart below also shows that an age turnaround may be underway.  The 13 percent rise in the 18 to 29 age group means that, if these young adults stay in New Hampshire, the number of families with children is likely to increase in the future and the state’s median age may stabilize or conceivably fall to a somewhat younger age.

Source: US Census Bureau

These changes may mean an increase in demand for second homes and retirement homes for older residents and starter homes for the youngest families.  But it may mean less demand for trading-up homes because there will be a smaller number of families with older children who sometimes purchase larger or more suitable homes.

Over the next five to 10 years, we could see some Baby Boomer empty-nesters desiring to sell their big homes and buy smaller homes as they approach retirement.  But there’s growing evidence that Baby Boomers will delay retirement, so they may want to keep that larger home and use the extra space for a home office or two.  In any case, overall population growth is most likely to be slower than in past decades.

Survey results and April sales data

Results from the NHAR monthly survey that many of you so kindly fill out show that 42 percent of recent homebuyers were young families and 44 percent of homebuyers were first time homebuyers.  The survey results also show that 30 percent of buyers came from out of state, with a solid majority of those coming from Massachusetts.

The survey also shows that while three-quarters of buyers were purchasing a primary home, about one in four of them were buying a second home or purchasing it for investment purposes.

It’s understandable that investors would be making an appearance considering that the median sales price in April was below $200,000 in eight of 10 NH counties.  But it is also noteworthy that between March and April of this year, the number of homes sold increased in eight counties as well.

Compared to April of 2008, however, residential unit sales are off 11 percent statewide, and median sale price is down 15 percent. (Please see tables below for county detail.)

On a year-to-date basis, homes sold are down just 7 percent compared to last year, but median selling price was 16 percent below the first four months of 2008.

There is substantial variation by county, however.  Compared to 2008 residential unit sales have increased in Belknap, Grafton, Merrimack and Sullivan counties despite declining sales elsewhere.  But the sales in Grafton and Belknap counties came at a sharp discount compared to most other New Hampshire counties.

Table 1:  Residential (non-condo) unit sales for April 2009

Table II: Cumulative residential (non-condo) unit sales January-April 2009

County	Units sold April ‘09	% change 2008-09	Median price April ‘09	% change 2008-09
Belknap	42	8%	$183,500	-27%
Carroll	44	-8%	$177,000	-3%
Cheshire	45	-18%	$167,000	-7%
Coos	20	-38%	$37,450	-54%
Grafton	46	10%	$139,000	-26%
Hillsborough	192	-21%	$221,875	-13%
Merrimack	76	9%	$199,500	-16%
Rockingham	180	-6%	$265,250	-13%
Strafford	60	-24%	$180,500	-17%
Sullivan	34	21%	$126,000	-22%
Statewide	739	-11%	$204,900	-15%

Table II:  Cumulative residential (non-condo) unit sales January-April 2009

County	Units sold Jan-April ‘09	% change 2008-09	Median price Jan-April ‘09	% change 2008-09
Belknap	145	-3%	$167,507	-22%
Carroll	159	-4%	$173,500	-10%
Cheshire	134	-7%	$165,200	-8%
Coos	81	7%	$59,000	-45%
Grafton	147	-7%	$140,000	-30%
Hillsborough	655	-7%	$220,000	-12%
Merrimack	240	-6%	$190,850	-14%
Rockingham	546	-10%	$250,000	-13%
Strafford	211	-10%	$180,000	-17%
Sullivan	96	-2%	$133,250	-17%
Statewide	2,414	-7%	$197,500	-16%

Source: Northern New England Real Estate Network

Don’t miss the Hampton Beach 9 th Annual Sand Sculpture competition. Hopefully this rain will give up and allow the sand sculpture participants to enjoy some awesome sun. Last year Jay and I went and had a blast looking at all the creative Sand Art. The show below is from last years event, but it will give you an idea of what a treat you’re in store for.  Head on up to Hampton from now until the 28th and get a first hand look!

Hampton Beach Sand Sculpture Competition

Come have an amazingly good time at Hampton Beach Sand Sculpture competition

Sunday night will offer night viewing so come on up to  Ocean Boulevard in Hampton, NH, just follow the crowd and you’ll be sure to find it.

59 Millville Street in Salem NH 03079 is now on the market for only $189,900

MLS #2778905

This 3 bedroom hip roof ranch is in move in condition and with the $8,000 tax credit is an incredible buy. Come take a look-this will totally surprise you.

Open house Sunday 12-2 pm June 28 2009

It’s been a busy few weeks in southern NH as the real estate market has picked up dramatically.  We’ve seen many new listings come on the market and many homes go pending. All the indicators on the street tells us that we are pretty well at the bottom  of the real estate market. We all know what happens when things bottom out…there is no where else to go but slowly up. I think we’ll see a stabilization of the market but no significant price  increases for a while yet. That said, we have seen a lot of activity and are seeing multiple offers.  So if you’ve been on the fence now is the time to jump off.  Give me call at 603-548-7728 and we can sit down and talk about the market and your options.

Three new listings added to the Southern NH real estate market.

59 Millville Street in Salem NH 03079 on the market for $199,900 MLS #2778905

This is a 3 bedroom hip roof ranch in an excellent commuting location. Updated and ready for your personal touch. Landscaped .50 acre lot, spacious kitchen with open concept living room and dining room. Deck overlooking backyard ideal for barbecuing and summer fun.  Come take a look-this will surprise you plus you can’t beat the price.

Southern NH prices just can’t be beat!

23 Justin Drive in Danville NH 03819 on the market for $259,900 MLS #2778943 This is an extremely well maintained 3 bedroom rambling Ranch, with vaulted ceilings and hardwood floors galore.  Tile entry way, with a summer room overlooking private backyard. 2 car attached garage for easy access.  Picture perfect setting in a cul-de-sac location. Come take a look, you won’t be sorry!

Southern NH Bank owned opportunity!

98 Red Brook Road in Fremont NH 03044 on the market for $243,900 MLS # 2780277

This is a Bank owned home and appears to be in good condition.  3 bedroom Cape with fireplace. Deck off dining room overlooking back yard. Pergo flooring in kitchen & dining room. Laundry hook ups, full basement. No appliances. Sold as is but come look this seems to be a nice one.

Your Southern NH REALTORS !

Call Jay and Monika McGillicuddy, REALTORS at 603-548-7685 for more information or to set up and appointment to take a look at any of these fine homes or simply to discuss your real estate needs.
We’d love to help you find your dream home.

32 Forrest Street Hampstead NH

Eastwood Place is a small condominium project where all the homes are set around a cul-de-sac and show true pride of ownership.

Flowers line the walkways while birds chirp nearby… all making you feel right at home.   It is a lovely setting in a popular  small town located close to the Massachusetts border which makes for an ideal commuting location.

Hampstead offers a little bit of everything and if you’re looking for something in true move in condition, a place you can be proud to call home, then you owe it to yourself to come take a look.  $249,900 MLS #2771859.

call Jay and Monika McGillicuddy, REALTORS to set up an appointment to view this fantastic home. You won’t be disappointed!

If you’re not familiar with Hampstead NH and all it has to offer please read this post. Why Hampstead NH should be my next home

The week was full of educational sessions, business meetings and hill visits, some of which I needed to attend to fulfill my duties as President Elect but also many sessions that I wanted to attend because doing so benefited my business and added to my knowledge base.

About 8,500 REALTORS from all over the country attended the conference and it was also a great opportunity for us to connect up with many of our  Blogger and Twitter friends from around the country.

The midyear meeting this year held the first  Real Estate Summit: Advancing the U.S. Economy, which was a special day long session and one of the real interesting things that happened during the summit was that Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, announced Federal Housing Administration is going to permit its lenders to allow homeowners (I’m assuming they mean home buyers) to use the $8,000 tax credit as a down payment. That really shook up the crowd of at least a few thousand REALTORS attending the summit meeting.  Using the tax credit as part of closing costs will make a huge  difference to many buyers and I was pretty excited to hear him say that!

You can read the official report/summery at REALTOR.org Updated…there may be some flip flopping going on about whether or not one can use the 8k as down payment.  Stay tuned as I am sure there will be some breaking news on it soon. Updated…Using the tax credit as down payment is now officially off the table.

One other event that really meant a lot to us personally involved a REALTOR/MLS IDX issue that we first heard about when Paula Henry a fellow real estate blogger wrote about her site being targeted because of a so called “google scraping” charge levied against her by her board of  REALTORS.   So,  Paula Henry and fellow Blogger Jay Thompson, flew in to address the MLS committee in DC regarding Google being considered a scraping site.

Paula  talked about the interpretation of the antiquated MLS rule impacting her life and business and Jay spoke passionately on behalf of all real estate bloggers everywhere and more importantly the impact that this rule will have on sellers and buyers! It looked like a viable compromise was reached with the full support of the MLS committee to be presented to the NAR board of directors for final vote on Saturday.   As real estate bloggers this is something that will effect us and our sellers so we were very happy with the outcome of the MLS meeting.

Because I am President Elect of the New Hampshire Association I also serve as an NAR director and my vote would count…or so I thought.

Ultimately a director  of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Board of Realtors (MIBOR) made a motion to table or send the changes back to the MLS Committee for further study. Once a motion is made “To Table” there is no further discussion on the issue. The vote was close but ultimately it was sent back. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the Blogosphere and what comes forward in November when The NAR Board of Directors meet again.

You can read more on the REALTOR.org Blog

Did I say it’s nice to be home?

It is nice to be home and if any of you are ready to take advantage of that $8,000 tax credit/down payment please  give me a call I’d love to help you find a home.

Jan 1, 2008 through April 30, 2008

There were 16 homes sold at an average price of $ 314, 244 with a median price of $317,000 . Their average days on market has been 147 days and median days on market are 129. Their price per square foot has averaged $127.00 with a median price per square foot as $118.00.

Jan 1, 2009 through April 30, 2009

There were 23 homes sold at an average price of $261,813 with a median price of $254,500. Their average days on market has been 99 days and median days on market are 67. Their price per square foot has averaged $121.00 with a median price per square foot as $125.00.

Sales in Hampstead are up 69.5 % over the same time frame from last year. Their average prices have declined 17% while days on market have shrunk  by 33%.

These statistics show us that the market has picked up this spring while home prices are still declining. It is also taking less time to sell your home as compared to last year.  With these prices we should see more sales from May June July and August of this year compared to last year.