The least expensive home that sold on the lake was at 56 Braun Bay Road in Moultonborough. Originally listed at $1.2 million, it was reduced to $895,000 and sold at $830,000 after 754 days on the market. This home is a 1,660 square foot, six room, three bedroom cottage that was completely and tastefully remodeled in 1996. The home has a nice eat in kitchen, living room with fireplace, loft area, a nice deck offering great views of the lake and mountains beyond, and a two car garage with a playroom above. The cottage sits on a .42 acre lot with 100 feet of frontage, a sandy beach, and a covered dock. I bet the new owners have enjoyed it immensely during this recent heat wave.

On the other end of the price spectrum, a vintage cottage at 304 Woodlands Road in Alton with two separate lots of record totaling 2.79 acres sold well below the $2.4 million asking price at $1.9 million. The property has expansive lake views, a total of 565 feet of shorefront, and a deepwater boathouse. There is a new five bedroom septic system servicing the cottage with another five bedroom septic design included for the other lot. You can expect to see a couple new homes there in the future…

The highest sale on Winnie in June was at 45 Swan Point Road in Moultonborough. This high end, Craftsman style lake home has 6,000 square feet of living space including 6 bedrooms, eight baths, a designer kitchen, great room with cathedral ceilings and fireplace, game room, and all the other requisite amenities expected at this price point. There is even a 700 square foot, three season pavilion sitting steps from the water on a point of land that provides gorgeous views. There is no need to go back to the main house for lunch as inside the pavilion you’ll find a kitchen, dining area, and half bath. This home sits on a very private 1.73 acre lot with 668 feet of frontage with a sandy beach, three docks, and a boat ramp. The home was listed at $3.49 million and sold for $3.15 million after 421 days. My kind of place.

Waterfront sales over the first 6 months of 2010 are ahead of last year with a total of 39 sales compared to 30 last year. The average sales price is up considerably from $839,858 in the 1st half of 2009 to $1.25 million so far this year. The total sales volume year to date comes in at $48.7 million compared to just $25 million over the same period last year. There were nine sales over a million in the 1st half of 2009 compared to nineteen so far this year. It seems that perhaps there is some confidence returning in the marketplace with buyers realizing that Winnipesaukee waterfront is a sound and safe place to invest.

There was only one sale on Winnisquam in June. Located at 30 Broadview in Sanbornton, this like new, 1,963 square foot contemporary home built in 2005 has six rooms, three bedrooms, and two and a half bath. The home sits on a .12 acre lot with 55 feet of frontage and has a nice sandy beach with great views down the broad part of the lake. This property was listed at $399,900 and sold for $389,000 which was well below the assessed value of $468,500. Sales are definitely up in the first half of 2010 on Winnisquam with seven sales at an average sales price of $521,571 compared to just two sales in the first half of 2009 at an average of $341,250.

Currently there are over 260 waterfronts for sale on Winnipesaukee including island properties and almost 30 on Winnisquam. That is one very large boat load of expensive real estate. Let’s hope the great weather continues to heat up the interest in these properties and we have a banner summer season!

Winnipesaukee Waterfront Sales June 2010

We are half way through another year and you have to ask: “Are we having fun yet?”.

For the first six months of the year, there were a total of 364 residential home sales compared to 306 for the first half of 2009. That’s a solid 19% increase. The average sales price so far this year came in at $298,945 compared to $254,071 for the first half on 2009. We are still pretty far below the $363,753 average sales price for the first six months of 2008, but we are certainly headed in the right direction on the number units sold and average price. There were sixteen homes over $1 million so far this year compared to just six in the first half of 2009. That seems to indicate that, at least in some quarters, there’s a positive outlook about investing in high end real estate. There also was an increase on sales below the $200,000 mark: there were 195 in the first half of 2010, 170 in 2009, and only 119 in 2008. There was a slight bump up in the $200-300,000 price range from 67 sales during the first half last year to 79 sales so far this year.

On a rolling 12 month basis there were 779 sales at an average sales price of $308,917 this past year ending 6/30/10 compared to 667 sales at an average $298,862 for the prior twelve month period. That’s a 17% increase in total sales over the past year which is really a very good sign. Actually, I think it is a great sign!

We seem to be posting small gains every month now. It is kind of like putting spare change away every night and pretty soon you can afford a night out on the town. The real estate market did not deteriorate overnight even though it might have felt that way, so it is going to take a while to get back to normal or to whatever the new “normal” will be. Buyers, sellers, and everyone else involved in the real estate world will adapt to that new market level. Hopefully the financial safeguards and lending guidelines that have been put in place will prevent another meltdown and also, hopefully, not choke the public’s ability to buy homes. The market has changed dramatically but with interest rates at unheard of lows, a huge inventory of homes to choose from, and incredible values to be found it is the perfect time for those with the desire and ability to purchase a home. The desire for homeownership is solidly ingrained in our culture, so it is obvious that “ability” is the real stumbling block to a complete turn-round in the housing market and that hinges on a resurgent economy and job creation…

There are still a lot of foreclosures and bank owned properties coming on the market. We all know that these foreclosures are due to a bad economy in general resulting in job losses and home values plummeting. Many homeowners just got over extended and couldn’t pay the bills. So it worried me over this past 4th of July that the home most symbolic of our independence and freedom, The White House, might end up being auctioned off. We all may own a piece of that place, but no one is more over extended than our own government right now. If you or I were a trillion or two behind in payments we’d be out on the street fairly quickly. But then again, we don’t have the armed forces to keep the sheriff from serving papers do we? Here are some things to consider if we had to sell “our house” down in D.C.:

First of all, this 55,000 square foot, six level home has 132 rooms, 16 bedrooms, 35 bathrooms, 28 fireplaces, 3 elevators, 8 staircases and sits on 18 acres in the middle of the city. When construction of this home started in 1792 it was located just north of a swamp. Today, Congress is actually located to the Southeast. The most obvious thing that comes to real estate agent’s mind is that “they over built for the area”. This may not be an easy sale.

This “Presidential Mansion”, as it was once called, was designed by an Irishman named James Hoban. When George Washington looked at the plans he thought the house was too small and wasn’t fancy enough for a President. So one of the first federal construction projects got increased in size by 30% and was all gussied-up so it could also be called the “Presidential Palace”. Obviously, this was an omen of things to come. The construction took eight years at a cost of $232,371 or $2.8 million in 2007 dollars.

Many historical homes boast that “George Washington Slept Here” thereby increasing the value of the property. Provenance is everything to some buyers but unfortunately, George and Martha never slept in the White House. That could hurt our asking price some. John Adams, our second President, and his wife Abigail were actually the first to live in the home even though it was not completed. John apparently got an earful more than once from Abigail about the unfinished state of the home and ongoing construction. Sounds familiar. When Thomas Jefferson moved in he complained that the place was too big but then proceeded to lay out designs for new additions. The place is really a bit of an “expansion mansion” as it was added onto many times over the years. You have to wonder if things are up to code. By 1948 the White House was in pretty tough shape due to years of poor maintenance and President Truman ordered a complete reconstruction. This place sounds like it could be a home inspector’s nightmare…or maybe his ticket to retirement.

We also have to disclose that the property has had several fires. It was completely burned down by the British during the War of 1812. There was another fire which completely gutted the West Wing on Christmas Eve 1929 while President Hoover was at a holiday party in the main part of the home. In fact, one article I read says there are several minor fires there every decade. I’m not sure what the lender’s underwriter will think about that but I’m sure they will make it an issue.

Decorating a home like this can be a nightmare, but just about every President (his wife, to be more accurate) has redecorated the place to their own tastes. Can you imagine how many layers of wallpaper there must be in some of these room. Maintenance on a home like this can be never ending. Unfortunately, vinyl was not yet invented in 1792. It takes 570 gallons of paint to keep the White House looking white. Painting trim can be a big chore with 147 windows and 412 doors. This won’t be sold to a retiree.

But there are a lot of great amenities to help the sale. Truman made sure the place got central air in 1948. It also has a bowling alley, swimming pool, exercise room, jogging track, movie theater, billiard room and a dubious security system. The dining room can seat 140 of your closest friends and the gourmet kitchen is fit for a chef—five of them to be exact. Sounds like a Governors Island waterfront! It is clear that this home won’t appeal to everyone. While it is a historical home, buyers today don’t want money pits. They want new, modern, and easy to maintain homes. It could be a difficult home to sell except at a steeply discounted price. After all, no one has any money except for the Chinese. With that kitchen and dining room it could be the “White Dragon Palace” featuring General Ike Egg Rolls, Washington Won Ton Soup, and Clinton Chow Mein. They could even have specials: Pelosi Pork and Rangel Rangoon.

In search of an immaculate home...

I was searching the MLS last week for a home between $250,000 and $450,000. A home that you would consider to be of high quality, great condition, wonderfully maintained, and that has lots of character and charm. A home that I would call special. I was only looking in three or four specific communities but I really didn’t come up with much. Undaunted, I broadened the search to include all the homes in Belknap County and Moultonborough regardless of price. Fortunately, the MLS search system we use allows me to search for very specific keywords within the public description of the property so I can zero right in on the type of property I wanted. I picked “keywords” that would describe a desirable home and searched through the 1300+ homes currently on the market. The results were surprising and yielded two obvious conclusions.

Was the maid off last week??

Of the 1300+ homes available there were only 27 “immaculate” homes found! Can you believe that? Does that mean there are 1273 less than stellar house-keepers out there, or perhaps some of the homes were listed the week the maid was off, or maybe the agent just didn’t want to mention the state of cleanliness of the home? I’m not sure what keyword to use to look for something less than “immaculate”. I tried “well kept” and only 9 homes came back (one being “well kept immaculate”—I liked that one!). The search revealed only 16 homes when I plugged “pristine” into the search. That’s not a real common word to use, but who wouldn’t want a pristine home? Of the 16 homes that came up only 3 were “pristine homes”. The rest were describing the setting, the frontage, the water, the lot, and so on.

How about “high quality” homes? There were only 3 out of 1300! What quality were the rest? I tried “well built” and found only 4 properties. Now I am getting really concerned that the remaining 1293 homes are all of inferior construction…or is it again a case of vague property descriptions? It was hard to tell by some of the photos of the homes that I looked at.

What about a “like new” home. I found a mere 19 and some of those only “looked” like they were new, some “showed” like they were new, and some were in “like new condition”. All the rest of the 1281 listings therefore weren’t “like new” and had to be just plain “new”, “young”, “older”, or maybe even had Indian Shutters and an outhouse.

I found just 48 of the 1300 to be described as “well maintained”. That can’t be good. However, only 9 needed “TLC”. I highly suspect that in reality both these results are much higher. That’s good and bad.

A real Charming house!

 There were 67 “charming” properties listed. Now anything can be “charming”, but I think this word gets misused a lot as some of the homes were not remotely charming based on the pictures I saw. I love homes with “character”, but there were only 18 homes that came up in the search. That means there could be 1282 lackluster, bland homes out there. There were 48 “cozy” properties starting with a $35,000 A-Frame home all the way up to a $1.4 million cottage on Governors Island. That’s a big range for the word “cozy”.

But, there were 133 “wonderful” results! There were wonderful “communities, lots, neighborhoods, spots, lawns, locations, gardens, and floor plans”. And there was the age old wonderful “family home”. It seemed though that you had to get up in the price range quite a bit before the true meaning of “wonderful” really kicked in…

And, lastly, the keyword “beautiful” yielded 334 properties. There were beautiful “floors, lots, woodwork,

Not the kind of character I was looking for...

waterfront, landscaping, yards, etc, etc, etc…”, but only 16 beautiful “homes”. The rest therefore had to be only good looking, maybe stately, or down-right ugly. But as they say: beauty is in the eye of the beer holder, I mean beholder, so this category is somewhat subjective.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t figure out how to use multiple keywords in my search. It wouldn’t seem to let me do it. But I bet if you were looking for an immaculate, pristine, well maintained, and charming home you wouldn’t find any at all—at least by the description of the property.

So you could conclude that (1) there are few homes on the market that are really outstanding or that (2) the property descriptions could be improved. Perhaps it is little of both? There does seem to be shortage of really great, high quality homes with character and charm especially in the mid-price ranges. It’s not that there aren’t good solid houses out there, but as Realtors®, we don’t walk into too many low to mid-priced homes where the first word out of our mouths is “Wow!”. We rely on photos a lot to convey what a house is like and many times great pictures can make up for a lackluster description. But it would also help a great deal if there were honest property descriptions relaying more about the condition, quality, and how a property feels rather than something like: “This 3 bed, 2 bath, Colonial on nice 2 acre level lot, has new appliances and flooring, a large deck, plus a huge back yard. Great location. Hurry, won’t last long.” (and just for the record there were only 45 homes that had a “great location”).

So if YOU are looking for any of the foregoing attributes in a home, call me! I know where all the beautiful, high quality, immaculate and pristine homes with character and charm are. It is not an easy job, but someone has to do it…

39 Dragonfly Drive, Loudon, NH

MLS # 4008472  Offered at $324,900

If you are looking for a high quality home that is in immaculate condition & located in a country neighborhood of new homes, than this property deserves a look.

This bright, open concept colonial is not your typical run of the mill colonial. It features a wonderful kitchen that flows into the dining & large living room to make it a great home to entertaining in. The kitchen boasts granite countertops, beautiful dark oak cabinetry, hardwood floors, & great lighting. The hardwood floors extend into the living room & dining areas as well. There is a 1st floor bedroom currently used as a den.

Upstairs there is a huge master suite with bath featuring double sinks & a jacuzzi tub. There is a huge walk in closet for the lady of the house—hubby can have one corner of it!

The basement would be perfect to finish off as a family room as there are plenty of windows to brighten the space. There is nice farmer’s porch to rock on & a large trex deck out back for barbequing.

This home is located a just a short commute from Concord on a level 2 acre lot on a great country road! Enjoy serene country living at its best..

The telephone is ringing, well, at least a little bit. It seems that buyers are out riding around and calling in on the yard signs which is great,

It’s always great to get that call from someone out on a boat asking: “ How much is that little, white, waterfront cottage?” Agent: “Where are you?”, Caller :“On the lake”, Agent: “Which one”, Caller: “Winnipesaukee”, Agent: “Where”, Caller: “On the Lake”, Agent: “Where on the lake? Which street?”, Caller: “ I don’t know, I’m not on the street, I’m on the lake”, Agent: “Are you in Meredith Bay?”, Caller: “Yes”, Agent: “Do you see a boat house?”, Caller: “Yes”, Agent: “That property is on the market for $1.2 million.” Caller: “For THAT?!” Click. We all get one or two of those calls every year.

I checked again this week to see what I could find for interesting properties currently on the market that are “Stuck In The Middle”. That’s the dreaded area between the under $200,000 “used-to-fly-off-the-shelves” price point and the million dollar “we-don’t-care-we-got-lots-of-money-and-buy-what-we-want” price point. More specifically, I looked into the $250,000-$450,000 price range to see what was up and found just over 400 homes in this price range vying for a prospective buyer. Here’s the scoop on a few that are priced well below assessed tax value and could be good deals.

At 89 Wood Ridge Road in Center Harbor, near the Waukewan Golf Club, you’ll find a contemporary cape with 3,3496 square feet of living space, 3-4 bedrooms, and 3.5 baths. This home has an open concept layout with a post and beam feel, a large brick fireplace, hardwood and tile floors, a master suite, and large deck for entertaining. This home sits on 1.75 acres of land with lake and mountain views. The property has been on the market for nine months and was originally listed at $595,000. It is now offered at $389,000 which is 68% of the current tax assessment of $568,600. This is a home that really doesn’t deserve to be Stuck In The Middle. Great deal…

Another nice contemporary cape with great views that seems to be mired down and not getting any traction with buyers is located at 528 Cherry Valley Road in Gilford. This 3,642 square foot, 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath home has vaulted ceilings, two fireplaces, a first floor master, lots of character, and fantastic views of Winnipesaukee. It has been on the market for about two years and was originally priced at $489,000. A recent $46,000 price reduction has now put it at $349,000 which is 82% of its current tax assessment of $428,500. Someone is going to get a great buy and a great value with this home!

If you want a colonial with mountain views, check out the home at 88 Phoenician Way in Laconia. This 3,051 square foot home constructed in 2006, has 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, a master suite, cathedral ceilings, eat in kitchen, large deck, and two car garage. This home was originally offered at $369,000 and has been on the market for about 3.4 years. It has been reduced to $289,900 as a short sale and they are looking for an offer. The property is now priced at 70% of its current assessment of $411,900!

So why haven’t these homes sold? Is there something wrong with them? Do they need a lot of work? Well, you’ll have to go and see them to find out for yourself for sure. It is most likely that they haven’t sold because of a combination of too few, too many, and too high. That is: too few buyers, too many homes on the market, and an initial asking price that was too high. And so, they are just Stuck In The Middle.

One only needs to look around to see what would get these prospective buyers to stop at your house. Bikini bike washes in your driveway will usually work. You’ll need a good sign and obviously someone to wear bikinis, so you should try and line up some college co-eds earlier in the year. Having a vendor selling T shirts, bike parts, or doing tattoos in your yard also works extremely well. If you have a pool in the back yard, a sign on the road advertising “Beach Bar Open” can be really effective marketing especially if you get the scantily clad Wild Turkey or Jagermeister girls to work the pool area and perhaps hold up signs near the street. The girls are essential as there is a lot of competition in this area just like in the housing market! Several other good ways to get potential buyers to stop is to advertise free camping in your back yard, put up a “Rally Headquarters” sign, or “Poker Run Stop” sign (all you need is a deck of cards). To make your property stand out paint your garage orange and black. To really get noticed, fly the American and MIA POW flags in your yard as bikers are very patriotic.

Once you get the bikers to stop you need to get them into the house. A “Free Beer Tomorrow” sign with an arrow pointed to your front door works well but may irritate some of your prospects because bikers aren’t stupid, they live for today, not tomorrow. Probably the most useful method will be a “Rest Room” sign. That is guaranteed to work.

Now that the biker/buyer is in the house, you can win him over easily with a few decorating tips. In the bath make sure that there’s a lot of chrome. Burnished bronze accessories don’t work for a biker. Towel and face cloth racks, lights, mirror frames, and shelves should all be chromed. Floors should be black and white tile. A black leather toilet seat cover would be perfect. You need a shower big enough for two (three is preferable). Once you’ve got his attention with the bathroom you can seal the deal with the living room. The living room should have, if it already doesn’t, a pool table dead center and black leather couches and chairs with leather saddle bags draped over the armrests. A large flat screen TV is also essential in this room. Throw in a few neon signs for ambiance and you are all set. If your wife doesn’t let you take it this far upstairs (i.e. if you are not a biker), then make sure your basement or your garage is outfitted as above. If you have no garage (that may put your home out of the running completely) you must make sure that your buyer can at least get his bike into the basement for storage in the winter. Storing the bike in the living room would be much better, but that could mess up the placement of the pool table.

Following these few simple suggestions should bring you a buyer during bike week, but you really shouldn’t try any of this alone. Always consult with a real estate agent (like me) that also rides. It is your safest bet to have a true professional biker/agent help during this opportune selling time! Next year I might even change my real estate yard signs to an orange and black sign just like the Harley Davidson logo, that should help.

The residential home sales activity in the Lakes Region during May 2010 was just about the same as in May of 2009. Last month there were 68 transactions at an average sales price of $314,665 and a median price of $183,000. In May 2009 there were 69 transactions at an average of $258,828 and a median sales price of $187,000. Home sales for the rolling 12 month period ending 5/31/10 totaled 765 transactions at an average sales price of $308,823 compared to 669 transactions at an average sales price of $307,896 for the 12 month period ending 5/31/09. That is a 14% increase in the total number of sales for that period. That’s certainly better than going the other way! Let’s hope home sales remain strong over the next few months and that everyone has a safe and sound bike week!

85 Pinnacle Park Road, Meredith NH

MLS# 4004940   Offered at $945,000

Enjoy stunning views and fabulous sunsets from this Winnipesaukee waterfront home sitting on a .8 acre lot with 158′ of frontage that sports a cabana, a 29′ x 4′ dock, a couple of moorings, and a coveted 14′ x 30′ boat house. The water is crystal clear & has good depth for all your toys.  What more could you possibly want? You will probably spend a lot of time sipping drinks down under the cabana unless, of course, you are out on your boat enjoying the lake!

This comfortable, open concept lake home has a fantastic living area with hard wood floors, a beautiful stone gas fireplace, great woodwork, and a wall of glass looking out at the bay. You won’t miss the fireworks from here!

There is a gourmet kitchen with granite counter tops & stainless appliances that opens into a dining room which flows out onto a large deck perfect for watching the sunsets and barbequing. This is a home that is perfect for a casual lifestyle centered around enjoying all that the Lakes Region has to offer!

The upper level is dedicated to the master suite complete with another stone gas fireplace, a luxurious master bath, and a private deck overlooking the lake. You will undoubtedly have a lot of trouble getting by the upstairs deck without at least spending a moment to take in the view!

On the lower level there is a family room with great views which makes a great place for the kids to hang out. Outside there’s a 2 car garage with storage above plus a full basement underneath. The lot is nicely landscaped and low maintenance so you can spend more time enjoying the sun. There is, however, a small Koi Pond– no fishing allowed!

So if you are looking to spend your summer on the lake this could just be the place! So come check it out and make this great home, your lake home this summer!

The largest sale on Winnipesaukee in May was at 46 Rocky Winds Drive in Moultonborough which was listed for $4,295,000 and sold for $3,900,000. This spectacular Adirondack lake home was built by one of the premiere builders in the Lakes Region, Skiffington Homes, and has 8,000 square feet of living space, seven bedrooms, eight baths, gourmet kitchen, five fireplaces, elevator, and…well just about every amenity you could possibly want. This impeccable home sits on a 1.2 acre lot with 200 feet of water frontage, a sandy beach, a permanent 50’ U-shaped covered dock and westerly views. I expect the new owner will have a fantastic summer! So will Joe Skiffington…

Another fine property at 124 Beede Road in Moultonborough that was originally offered at $1.595 million, was reduced to $1.35 million, sold for $1,198,500 after 250 days on the market. This home is a 3,594 square foot, three bedroom contemporary home built in 1996 that features a large open floor plan with a huge great room with a stone fireplace, a first floor master, and a wall of glass looking toward the lake. It also features two huge decks for outside entertaining, 304 feet of frontage with a sandy beach and a U shaped dock.

Over at 118 Pendleton Beach Road in Laconia a deal was struck on a 3,510 square foot, four bedroom contemporary that was built in 1979. Originally offered in 2008 for $1.699 million it sold for just about its assessed value at $1.15 million. The least expensive waterfront property sold in May was at 12 Wagon Wheel Trailin Meredith. This 1940’s vintage lake cottage on a level .33 acre lot had 90 feet of frontage, great westerly views of the bay and a sandy beach. The new owners plan to live there a while and eventually replace it with a new structure. This property was on the market for $699,000 and sold for $660,000 which was $108,000 below assessed value.

There was only one sale one Winnisquam in May which was over at 262 Shore Drive in Laconia. This home was built in 1974 and has 4,472 square feet of living space, seven bedrooms, and four baths. The .85 acre lot has 340 feet of frontage, a sugar sand beach, three docks, and southwestern exposure. Originally offered in 2008 at $1.075 million, it sold for $837,500 which was $112,000 less than its tax assessment.

You can always find the vey latest listings on Winnipesaukee right here at Lakes Region Home!

32 Hill Road, Tilton NH   MLS #4004478

Offered just in time for summer at $424,900

This impeccably maintained Winnisquam waterfront home is undeniably charming and comfortable.

The property features a level lot with a fantastic lawn area, dock, perched beach, and beautiful, expansive lake views especially from the huge three season porch (where you will undoubtedly spend a lot of your evenings telling stories).

Just inside there is a nicely updated country kitchen with an island and double wall ovens plus a huge pantry that Julia Childs would have loved. The living room features a wood fireplace to take the chill off fall evenings. There is also a first floor master as well as a 3/4 bath and laundry on this level. There are two more bedrooms upstairs and a large full bath.

The kids will have a great time playing tag on the lawn, playing on the beach, or jumping off the end of the dock. Dad will enjoy the dock even more and the great boating on the lake.

Enjoy Winnisquam this summer and start making memories you’ll remember for a lifetime!