Home Sales Heating Up. Interest Rates Now at 8.5%
Home Sales Are Heating Up. Interest Rates Now at 8.5%.
We’ve had six consecutive months of record breaking home sales in the Lakes Region of NH despite interest rates hovering just above 8.5%. Home prices have risen sharply over the past year and we have just surpassed the levels set during the peak in 2005-2006. The scarcity of nice mid-priced homes has resulted in multiple offers and many quick sales at or above full price. First time buyers are having great difficulty finding homes under $200,000 and even when they do the current higher rates often make home ownership just out of their reach.
That’s the future. Now back to reality.
We are three quarters of the way through 2009 and it is probably pretty safe to say that there will be no rebound in the local real estate market this year unless something monumental happens in the next three months. The results so far have been somewhat encouraging in that the market does not seem to have gotten any worse and has leveled out-at least in terms of the total number of sales occurring. The signs are pointing to the fact that we have likely reached the bottom of the housing market. It is just a question of how much longer things will remain at these levels before homes prices, interest rates, and total sales numbers start to go back up. Nobody really knows the answer to that question. 
There is one thing that I do know for sure: if you are in a position to buy a home, right now is a probably the best time that I’ve seen in a very long time to do so. When you combine the large inventory of homes on the market, interest rates once again below 5%, great prices, and an $8,000 tax credit for first time buyers (which will hopefully be extended in some form) you could not have a better scenario for buyers. If you are sitting on the fence about buying because you are trying to “time” the market then you may look back in the Spring and say “Boy, I wish I had bought last year when things were cheaper!”
There were 67 residential homes that changed hands in September 2009 in our Lakes Region of NH list of communities. That is on par with the 69 sales that occurred in September of 2008. There were 507 residential sales so far this year compared to 508 through the first three quarters of 2008 so we are also pretty consistent there.
The average sales price last month came in at $292,896 which is up from the $278,476 average posted last September. That little bump up in the average sales price in September looks encouraging, but the average sales price for the year to date came in at $276,740 compared to $361,817 in 2008.
The median sales price dropped from $236,000 in the first three quarters of 2008 to $183,400 this year indicating that many more lower priced homes have sold. So far this year 277 homes sold under the $200,000 mark which represents 55% of the total sales. Last year there were 171 sales under $200,000 which represented only 34% of the sales.
Even though much of the drop in the average sales price this year can be attributed to the fact that it is mostly low priced homes that are selling, there is no question that regardless of the price range you are looking in you can find your dream home for a lot less money right now. So here’s the real question for those of you that are on the fence: shouldn’t you buy now instead of waiting until the market goes up? And if you haven’t thought about buying, maybe you should…
Residential Homes Sold September 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 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | $205,457 | $214,900 | 97% | 155 |
| BARNS. | 9 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | $162,044 | $154,000 | 99% | 201 |
| BELM. | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | $223,500 | $135,000 | 96% | 65 |
| CENTER HARBOR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - |
| GILF. | 6 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $208,000 | $176,500 | 96% | 236 |
| GILMNTN | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | $294,500 | $211,500 | 93% | 87 |
| LACONIA | 13 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | $293,955 | $164,000 | 96% | 332 |
| MERE. | 7 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | $296,557 | $150,000 | 93% | 91 |
| MOULT. | 12 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | $511,550 | $314,500 | 92% | 220 |
| NEW HAMPTON | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | $315,000 | $315,000 | 96% | 100 |
| SANBTN | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $193,000 | $193,000 | 87% | 112 |
| TILTON | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $320,000 | $320,000 | 96% | 134 |
| TOTALS | 67 | 8 | 27 | 12 | 7 | 13 | $292,896 | $193,000 | 94% | 195 |
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.
