I’ve pulled up some data to provide all of you with some current insight on what’s happening in our local real estate market here in the Lakes Region.
Belknap County — single-family 1/1/21 – 7/31/21
- Closed sales were down 6% during this period.
- Median sales price was up 8% ($367,150) during this period.
- Sales volume was up 3% ($282.1 million) during this period.
- Days on market were down 4% during this period.
- Pending sales were down 0% during this period.
Carroll County — single-family 1/1/21 – 7/31/21
- Closed sales were up 6% during this period.
- Median sales price was up 2% ($364,900) during this period.
- Sales volume was up 7% ($296.6 million) during this period.
- Days on market were down 8% during this period.
- Pending sales were down 0% during this period.
Grafton County — single-family 1/1/21 – 7/31/21
- Closed sales were up 7% during this period.
- Median sales price was up 7% ($299,900) during this period.
- Sales volume was up 6% ($281.6 million) during this period.
- Days on market were down 9% during this period.
- Pending sales were down 9% during this period.
You can see the activity decreasing during the month of July as follows. In Belknap County, closed sales were down 36.6%, in Carrol County, closed sales were down 23.6%, and in Grafton County, closed sales were down 27.6%. This sudden drop-off was due to the lack of inventory available in each county and a softening of the market demand due to increased prices.
- Nationally, July housing trends are finally offering good news for 1st time buyers. According to the Realtor.com monthly housing report released recently, new listings rose 6.5% in July for the fourth month in a row as sellers add higher numbers of smaller homes to the market according to the Realtor.com monthly housing report released recently.
- A new national survey indicated that in the 4th quarter of 2020 and the 1st quarter of this year, active house hunters blamed being outbid by other offers as the most common reason for their inability to make a purchase. But the top reason changed in the 2nd quarter more would-be buyers said that high home prices are sidelining them lately according to the housing trends report.
- In New Hampshire statewide, the median sales price for a home hit a record high of $402,000, a 25% increase from the same time last year. That’s a chilling statistic, a huge bump for one year. This new record high suggests people are emerging from the pandemic ready to relocate to the tax-free and natural resources-rich Granite State. Plus, those who can work from home want to come to New Hampshire.
- The good news is that the inventory of homes for sales rose nationwide in July. However, inventory overall still remains 18.8% lower than a year ago nationwide. In New Hampshire, the inventory is lower than the national average. At the beginning of the year leading to spring, New Hampshire was hovering around 1,000 single-family homes for sale in any given week. Now, as of August 19th, we have 1,884 single-family homes for sale. So we are starting to see more properties coming on the market.
- I’m starting to see some “leveling” to this hectic market we’ve experienced. As more properties come on the market, we’re seeing price reductions show up more frequently. For example, in the last 10 days, there have been 137 price reductions in the entire state. In the Lakes Region, the primary single-family market is affected the most because many properties were getting “too pricey” for the “local market” to afford, and the demand softened. On the other hand, the second home market with waterfronts, water access, docks, beaches, and view properties are still attracting strong interest with a much quicker turnaround than the primary market. There are still are many cash sales coming from our neighboring states & southern New Hampshire. However, properties that are considerably overpriced are still on the market.
Here’s a quick recap of what’s available locally:
- Laconia
- 0 waterfront homes for sale
- 26 single family homes for sale from $189,000 to $1,310,000 (median $479,900.)
- 9 condominium for sale from $144,000 to $849,900 (median $479,900.)
- Gilford
- 1 waterfront homes for sale at $10,000,000
- 24 single family homes for sale from $174,900 to $1,450,000 (median $549,500.)
- 7 condominium for sale from $18,500 to $799,000 (median $244,900.)
- Meredith
- 3 waterfront homes for sale from $895,000 to $9,950,000
- 17 single family homes for sale from $184,680 to $1,795,000 (median $595,000.)
- 3 condominium for sale from $485,000 to $775,000.
- Moultonborough
- 9 waterfront homes for sale from $649,000 to $1,300,000
- 12 single family homes for sale from $275,000 to $2,500,000 (median $479,500.)
- 1 condominium for sale at $899,000.
- Lake Winnipesaukee
- 16 waterfront homes for sale $895,000 to $11,500,000 (median $1,350,000.)
- Squam Lake
- 2 waterfront homes for sale $1,299,000 to $2,100,000 (median $1,699,500.)
- Lake Waukewan
- 2 waterfront homes for sale $699,000 to $1,600,000 (median $1,149,500.)
- Lake Kanasatka
- 4 waterfront homes for sale $649,000 to $1,299,000 (median $825,000.)
- Lake Opechee
- 0 waterfront homes for sale.
With only 10 days left in August, we will soon be heading into our fall selling season. At Roche Realty Group, we have always experienced strong activity during this period. We would be happy to provide valuable insight for any of your real estate needs.
This article was written by Frank Roche. Frank is president of Roche Realty Group with offices in Meredith and Laconia, NH, and can be reached at (603) 279-7046. Waterfront sales data was compiled by a NEREN map search on 08,11/2021 at 10:00 am EST and is subject to change. Please feel free to visit www.rocherealty.com to learn more about the Lakes Region and its real estate market.
