Some Humor, Some Wisdom – Lakes Region of NH Real Estate Market Report 9/18/09
Some humor and some wisdom…
Here are a few pretty amusing quotes about housing from some famous people:
“The fellow that owns his own house is always just coming out of the hardware store.” Kin Hubbard
“There ought to be a room in every house to swear in.” Mark Twain
“Ah, the patter of little feet around the house. There’s nothing like having a midget for a butler.” W.C. Fields
“The partitions of the house were so thin we could hear the women occupants of the adjoining rooms changing their minds.” Mark Twain
“I’m an excellent housekeeper. Every time I get a divorce, I keep the house.” Zsa Zsa Gabor
Phyllis Diller said: “If your house is really a mess and a stranger comes to the door greet him with ‘Who could have done this? We have no enemies.’”
No offense is taken by me with the great Will Rodgers’ observation: “In a real estate man’s eyes, the most expensive part of the city is where he has a house to sell.”
On a more serious, but meaningful note: “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” William Morris
Sales for single family homes in the Lakes Region of NH communities in this report were up slightly last month to 66 units compared to last August when there were 62 units sold. While the slight uptick in sales is encouraging, we are still significantly off the sales totals of the previous three years. There were 133 sales in August 2005, 103 in 2006, and 109 in 2007. It looks like it will take some time before we can back to those levels.
Half of the sales last month were below the $200,000 mark compared to just 34% below $200,000 last August. The average sales price, however, was up slightly compared to last August due to a couple million dollar plus sales in Gilford that bolstered the average. A nice 1941 vintage, 3 bedroom, 1876 square foot lake cottage with 130 feet of shorefront at 69 Broadview Terrace on Governors Island sold at $1.21 million. This home had stunning views of the lake and mountains beyond. Next door at 55 Broadview Terrace, an exceptional 11,684 square foot waterfront with 270 feet of frontage sold for a cool $6.5 million. It had 6 bedrooms, 8 baths, and featured all the high end amenities and custom features one would expect for that price tag. That sales price ties the record for the highest priced home sold on Lake Winnipesaukee (the other sale for $6.5 million was at 16 Tranquility Lane in Alton in Dec. 2005).
One final quote, which is actually an old Russian Proverb, is something every homebuyer should heed: “Don’t buy the house, buy the neighborhood.”
Residential Homes Sold August 2009
| TOWN | # S0LD | < 100K | 100 to 200K | 200 to 300K | 300 to 400K | > 400K | AVG SELLING PRICE | MEDIAN SALES PRICE | % SOLD TO LIST $$ | AVG DOM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALTON | 8 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | $217,000 | $200,000 | 96% | 264 |
| BARNSTEAD | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $133,530 | $146,400 | 95% | 217 |
| BELMONT | 7 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | $279,571 | $224,000 | 92% | 137 |
| CENTER HARBOR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 | $0 | - | - |
| GILFORD | 10 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | $922,800 | $198,500 | 94% | 193 |
| GILMANTON | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | $243,450 | $253,750 | 91% | 108 |
| LACONIA | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | $182,550 | $158,000 | 104% | 98 |
| MEREDITH | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | $495,643 | $595,000 | 95% | 77 |
| MOULTONBORO | 8 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | $323,656 | $305,000 | 90% | 135 |
| NEW HAMPTON | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $113,500 | $113,500 | 92% | 380 |
| SANBORNTON | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | $253,500 | $256,450 | 101% | 181 |
| TILTON | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | $247,000 | $183,000 | 90% | 153 |
| TOTALS | 66 | 5 | 28 | 17 | 4 | 12 | $362,372 | $198,500 | 94% | 170 |
Report covers the towns of Alton, Barnstead, Belmont, Center Harbor, Gilford, Gilmanton, Laconia, Meredith, Moultonborough, New Hampton, Sanbornton, and Tilton. Compiled from the NNEREN MLS System.
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