If you’re considering selling your Lakes Region home, you’re like a surfer. You’re studying the swells, eager to catch the next big wave at its crest, so you can get the best ride, the best return for your money.
Both nationwide and statewide data show a tide of steadily swelling home prices that are being buoyed by a variety of factors including the following…
- a strengthening economy
- low national and statewide unemployment
- healthy consumer balance sheets
- low mortgage interest rates
- a low supply of homes
- sustained high demand from buyers
Prices are swelling, like waves
Peaking prices suggest that now might be a great time to be prepared to sell your Lakes Region home… before the wave breaks, the market shifts, and the best opportunity passes you by.
A real estate data firm, CoreLogic, recently reported that home prices rose seven percent nationally in September 2017, compared with September of last year.
According to the New Hampshire Association of REALTORS® (NHAR), “The New Hampshire residential housing market again showed a dramatic monthly median price increase in October.” NHAR reports that:
- last month, the median price for single family homes in New Hampshire was up 6.9 percent from October, 2016, to $265,000, the highest median price for any October since 2005
- year to date, 2017 home sales are behind by just 0.1 percent (only 15 sales) from last year, in which New Hampshire saw the most single family home sales ever
- year to date sales volume is up more than 6 percent over year to date last year, the highest dollar volume in New Hampshire history
- the amount of time it takes to sell a single family home in New Hampshire continues dropping, as October saw an average of 67 days on the market, a 15 percent decrease from last year
The nonprofit organization also reported that the Granite State’s condominium prices were up 5.2 percent from last October, to a median price of $197,500.
Don’t miss the wave
Timing real estate is like timing a big wave. No one can say for sure when conditions will reach their absolute peak, but one thing is certain: real estate is cyclical and it comes in waves, with many ups and downs.
There are several major factors on the horizon that could lead to a potential downturn in home values.
First, low interest rates could see an upward turn. That will certainly impact values negatively. Swells in interest affect mortgages and make already peaking home prices even less affordable for buyers, dampening demand.
Second, the record stock market gains over the past nine years could reverse trend and negatively impact real estate values, because many times these two markets go hand in hand. REITS (real estate investment trusts) are already seeing some effects.
Third, proposed major tax reform is on the immediate horizon. While the process is still being filtered through, there are proposals to eliminate the second home interest deduction and property tax deduction. And for primary homes, the interest deduction proposed is less than half of what was originally allowed. Also, a cap of $10,000 on property tax deduction, or possible elimination, is being proposed.
It’s been decades since we had a major tax overhaul in this country, but the last overhaul did have a major impact on home values.
Finally, the adage “what goes up must come down” applies to real estate. The increases we have seen during the last nine years could be heading to a peak. If you’re looking to catch the wave at its perfect moment, now would be the ideal time to explore your options and receive some estimates on the value of your property. You might be pleasantly surprised how your value has risen.
It is said that “time and tide wait for no man.” If you’re seriously considering selling your Lakes Region home please contact me for a complimentary market analysis on your home.
Feel free to contact me with questions about buying or selling residential real estate in the Lakes Region. Your questions may be the subject of a future article!
Brent Metzger is a sale
s associate at Roche Realty Group in Meredith, NH. He can be reached on his cell phone at (603) 229-8322, at the office at (603) 279-7046, or by e-mail: brent@rocherealty.com
Please feel free to visit www.rocherealty.com to learn more about the Lakes Region and its real estate market.
