Waterfront property sales in the Lakes Region are obviously a very important segment of our local real estate market. After all, we are the Lakes Region, and people come here to vacation and play year after year. Not surprisingly, many visitors end up wanting to buy their own little piece of paradise on the waters edge. Waterfront sales are also a good indicator of the strength of the overall market and perhaps even our local economy. Waterfront property is, and will continue to be, one of the most expensive kinds of real estate you can buy here or anywhere else for that matter. The old saying “they ain’t making any more waterfront” has never been more true. So did buyers continue to see value on the water in the Lakes Region in 2008? A quick look at sales on Winnipesaukee and Winnisquam will tell the story.

There is no doubt that the overall real estate market in 2008 in terms of the total number of sales was down in every price range. It is not surprising, therefore, that the number of sales on Winnipesaukee and Winnisquam were both down in 2008 compared to previous years as well. It is just a sign of the bad economic times and it shows that some buyers are holding off purchasing that waterfront home of their dreams. In 2008 Winnipesaukee registered 76 sales compared to 115 in 2007. That is also just about half the sales recorded in 2004. Winnisquam had  just 10 sales in 2008 which is also about half the number for a normal sales year.

So maybe not as many people were buying in 2008, but the good news is that on both lakes the average sales price compared to 2007 went up. We now stand at $1,217,880 on the big lake. Except for a big spike in prices in 2006 which caused 2007 to look a little off, the average sales price on Winnipesaukee has gone up every year.  The average price on Winnipesaukee has almost doubled from the $637K average price registered back in 2000. The average sales price on Winnisquam broke the $600,000 mark which indicates how popular and desirable the big lake’s little sister has become. The fact that sales prices on the lakes have held up should give buyers of lakefront property assurance that their investment will increase in value over time and give current waterfront owners the confidence that values are there for them if they decide to sell.

The breakdown of sales by town on Winnipesaukee shows that Moultonborough leads the way in terms of total sales followed by Meredith and Gilford. That is not surprising due to the sheer number of waterfront homes in Moultonborough and the very low property tax burden there which makes it a very desirable town to live in. That’s definitely where I am headed as soon as I can save up my down payment!

Winnipesaukee Waterfront Sales Including Island Property

	Total Sold	Median Sales Price	Average Sales Price	% Sold to List Price
2004	150	$874,500	$1,052,026	93%
2005	121	$890,000	$1,144,289	93%
2006	108	$985,000	$1,234,276	92%
2007	115	$875,000	$1,168,190	91%
2008	76	$926,250	$1,217,880	91%

  

Winnisquam Waterfront Sales Report

	Total Sold	Median Sales Price	Average Sales Price	% Sales to List Price
2004	22	$495,000	$585,127	92%
2005	21	$450,000	$545,352	97%
2006	21	$560,000	$564,705	95%
2007	14	$497,000	$517,143	96%
2008	10	$629,500	$602,700	92%

Winnipesaukee 2008 Waterfront Sales Report

Town	Total Sold	Median Sales Price	Ave Sales Price	% Sold to List Price
Alton	8	$1,231,250	$1,215,938	90%
Center Harbor	-	-	-	-
Gilford	14	$703,500	$1,329,571	88%
Laconia	4	$527,500	$728,750	96%
Meredith	17	$916,500	$1,064,824	92%
Moultonborough	21	$1,000,000	$1,227,445	94%
Tuftonboro	7	$635,000	$756,286	89%
Wolfeboro	5	$2,600,000	$2,570,000	91%

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 at 11:44 am and is filed under Lakes Region Home, Market Report Posts, Winnipesaukee Sales, Winnisquam. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.