There were 61 residential home sales in April 2012 in the communities in this Lakes Region real estate market report. The average sales price came in at $324,580 and the median price point at $170,000. While 61 sales might not seem like a lot, it is 33% better than the 46 sales last April and the average price is up from $317,714. Residential sales are up 23% year to date over the same period last year, so things are definitely looking up.

It looks as though the theft charges filed against a Gilford man will be dropped before the case can go to court. Fred Byer was charged with grand larceny in connection with the theft at the property located at 19 Mountain Ridge Drive in Meredith. It was alleged that Mr. Byer perpetrated the crime after visiting the residence sometime in mid March. Witnesses were to testify that he cased the place thoroughly and then some 51 days later returned and stole the entire residence for $350,000. That was $89,000 less than the asking price and $259,000 less than the current tax assessment which is criminal. It also appears that Mr. Byer was not acting alone.

The Meredith Police Department and the NH State Police were summoned to the scene by a passerby who noticed suspicious activity around the long vacant home. The perpetrator, who was caught red handed at the residence, appeared to be delirious and light headed from the high that accompanies these high stake robberies. Mr. Byer was cuffed and taken to LRGH for observation and released into custody later the same day. A back ground check revealed Mr. Byer had been a suspect in other similar robberies, so he was detained and then charged with the crime. Upon further investigation it was learned that Mr. Byer had the help of not only a local lending institution, but a title company, and two shifty looking real estate agents who appear to have received some compensation in connection with helping Mr. Byer pull this caper off. After extensive interrogation of Timothy Vault from the bank and Sharon Deeds from the title company (no one would have believed the real estate agents) it was determined that this was a new form of legalized grand larceny and all charges against Mr. Byer had to be dropped.

It appears that this was not just an isolated event. There has been an rash of house thefts in the Lakes Region as of late. It does not appear that the robberies are connected, but it does seem that the modus operandi is very similar. In each case the perpetrator literally walked away with thousands of dollars in instant equity. Here are the addresses of a few of the homes hit in this latest crime wave:

31 Johnson Street, Belmont, a 3 bedroom, 1,080 sq ft home on .49 acres stolen for $75,000 or 51% of the assessed value.

63 Sand Hill, Gilford, a four bedroom, 4,520 sq ft contemporary on 1.95 acres stolen for $257,500 or 58% of the assessment.

364 Black Brook Road, in Sanbornton, a three bedroom waterfront cottage on Winnisquam sold for $370,000 or 73% of the assessed value.

6 Old Bristol Road, New Hampton, an 1800’s vintage, 4 bedroom, 3,900 sq ft colonial on 1.8 acres stolen for $315,000 or 80% of the assessment.

A neighborhood watch is being organized in several communities to help restore calm. All residents are requested to report anything unusual to local law enforcement officials. While the names in this report have been changed to protect the innocent and the story a total fabrication, the sales results are real.

There were seven waterfront sales on Winnipesaukee in April 2012 at an average price of $2.15 million! That compares to eight sales last April at an average of $1.06 million. Five out of the seven sales exceeded the $1 million mark. Could the era of numerous big dollar waterfront sales be returning?

The least expensive sale for the month was at 20 Olive Street in Alton. This seven year old, 2,922 square foot, four bedroom and four bath home is in immaculate condition and has three levels of bright, cheery living space. The main level features an open floor plan with an eat-in kitchen with stainless appliances, dining area, large living room, hardwood floors, and a great wraparound farmer’s porch overlooking the water. All the bedrooms are on the second level and there is a large family room, den and office in the lower level walkout. This home sits on a level .87 acre lot with 290 feet of frontage and an L shaped dock. This home was on the market for 182 days at $975,000 before accepting an $850,000 offer. It is currently assessed at $689,000.

Over at 13 Friends Point in Tuftonboro, a vintage 1920’s seasonal three bedroom, four bath cottage with 2,650 square feet of space found a new friend to live there. The cottage is the typical rustic finish of that era with classic brick fireplaces, pine floors, and natural woodwork. I suspect the new owner was more taken with the breathtaking views from this level 1.75 acre lot with 400 feet of shoreline, dock, and breakwater. This home has simply amazing views and sunsets. I expect the buyer’s new dream home might be on the horizon here. This property was only on the market for 40 days and 40 nights which is a pretty good indicator of just how nice the lot is. It was offered at $3.1 million and closed at $2.2 million with a tax assessed value of $1.432 million. Spectacular…

The highest sale for the month was down at 50 Whitegate Road on Winter Harbor in Wolfeboro. This home is a 6,059 square foot, four bedroom, four bath Adirondack that has all the classic features you’d expect; the requisite stone fireplace in the great room, plenty of natural woodwork, wainscoting, beamed ceilings, first floor master suite, lower level family room, and incredible detail and quality throughout. This home was built in 2006 on a level 2.6 acre lot with 150 feet of southwesterly facing frontage. There’s a U shaped dock for the water toys and a two car heated garage for the Bentley. This home has been on and off the market since 2008 for a total of 548 days starting at $3.6 million. The listing was revived this year at $3.495 million and sold the same day at $2.84 million. A buyer in waiting I suspect. The property is currently assessed at $2.863 million.

While there were no sales on Squam last month, there were three sales on Winnisquam compared to just one last April. The highest sale was at 25 Bay Shore Drive  in Sanbornton. This 1930’s vintage, 2,589 square foot, four bed, three bath contemporary has been tastefully updated. It features a spacious kitchen, a huge living room with a fireplace overlooking the water, four season sun room, a second floor master suite, and a comfy den. This home sits on a .18 acre lot with 100 feet of frontage and a dock. This property was originally offered at $595,000, was reduced to $549,000, and sold for $518,000 after 348 days in the market. It is currently assessed at $482,800.

So it looks like the waterfront market is off to a good start this year and it is promising to see some big dollar sales, too! Visit Lakes Region Home each and every month for the latest on the residential and waterfront markets in the Lakes Region of NH!

The number of homes for sale in the twelve Lakes Region communities in this report continues to creep up with 105 more listings available than last month. The 1195 listings available as of May 1 represents a 17.6 month supply. That’s enough! The current average asking price stands at $500,196 with a median price point of $257,000.

There is obviously a pile of homes in every price range to look at if you are in the market for a new residence. I took a look at the homes that have come on in the past month to see if there were any potential good deals based on a comparison where the asking price is a lot less than the property’s tax assessed value. That’s as good a place to start as any in finding a bargain, but as I have said many times before, that’s just one factor. You have to go look at the home to see what condition it is in, what updates and repairs are necessary, and whether the property fits your overall needs. So here’s a look at some fresh meat for the carnivorous home buyer.

The home at 38 Range Road road in Belmont might not exactly be fresh meat as it has been on the market several times before, but it is offered a very fresh and greatly reduced price. It was originally offered back in 2007 for a little over $300K, last year in the mid $200′s, and is now listed at $179,900 which is a short sale situation. With a tax assessment of $236,400 it seems like a pretty good price. The house is a 2,000 square foot, three bedroom, two bath colonial that has had many upgrades including a new roof and boiler. It has a large eat-in kitchen, formal dining room, spacious living room, and a 10’ x 24’ family room. The home sits on a great 5.6 acre country lot with a nice yard and open fields for your horses.

Over at 558 Stage Road in Sanbornton is a spacious 3,612 square foot, three bedroom, two bath ranch that also looks like it might be a good deal. This home was built in 2002 and sits on a private 8 acre lot with a loooong driveway. I like loooong driveways. There’s a large country kitchen, a master suite, hardwood flooring, a fully finished walk out basement, central air, and a two car garage. This home also was on before. It was listed at $269,900 last year, but is now offered at $245,900. It has an assessed value of $295,000.

A truly fresh listing with stunning long range views awaits you at 20 Hillside Drive in New Hampton. This mountaintop, 1,856 square foot, three bed, two bath raised ranch with cedar siding has lots of glass and a great deck to enjoy the fabulous views. This home has an open concept floor plan and the large living room boasts a gas fireplace as does the master suite. The price tag on this home is $269,900 which is 91% of the assessed value of $295,250. Looks nice and sounds like a deal for a house with a million dollar view.

Another home that has never been on the market is at 139 Eastman Shore Road in Laconia and it looks like it is priced right and ready to go. This well cared for three bed, one and three quarter bath, 1,978 square foot ranch was built in 2003 on a 2 acre lot that has access to Winnisquam. You’ve got easy one floor living with a galley kitchen with a pantry and built in computer nook, an ample sized living room with a soapstone gas stove, a master suite, and a wonderful four season room with tongue and groove pine walls. There’s a large family room plus two additional large rooms in the walkout lower level. There’s also a great farmer’s porch and an attached two car garage. This home is priced at only $219,000 and has a current tax assessment of $235,100. Sounds like a good deal to me!

There are plenty of other opportunities out there for savvy buyers looking for a good deal, so get out there and look before the one you could have had is gone. Talk to a REALTOR® that can help you locate the dream home you have always wanted at a price that won’t give you nightmares…

There were 64 residential home sales in March in the twelve towns listed in this Lakes Region of NH real estate report. That’s a 12% increase over last March. The average sales price came in at $314,161 last month compared to just under $300,000 last year. There were four sales over the million dollar mark bolstering the average sales price. Exactly 50% of the sales were under $200,000.

For the first quarter of 2012, there were 171 residential single family home transactions. Sales are up 18% for the quarter compared to the first quarter of 2011 and 24% over 2010! There were seven sales exceeding a million dollars this year compared to just four last year. The lower priced properties are getting an increasing share of the total sales. Transactions under the $200,000 mark represented 51% of the total number of sales in the first quarter of 2010 and 2011 but increased to 59% in 2012.

The average sales price for the first quarter of 2012 came in at $272,526 which was very close to the $272,854 last year but off the $308,062 posted in for the first quarter of 2010. Anyway, this is a great start for the new year with significantly better activity for showings and sales. Every real estate agent, home inspector, appraiser, lender, and closing agent I have spoken to has remarked that they are seeing an increase in activity as well. Scary, isn’t it?

I like to see what homes sell quickly and try to figure out why as other homes sit for years on the market. There should be an easy explanation why certain homes sell extremely quickly. There was one home that sold the same day that it came on the market up at 38 Oslo Street in Moultonborough. I always suspect that the agent had a buyer lined up when the property came on the market when I see this. This home was a nice 1700 square foot, two bedroom, two bath Skiffington built home in 1998 in the water access community of Suissevale. I can’t tell you a lot about it as it sold so fast the agent didn’t have to put any pictures in the MLS. It was listed at $199,000 and sold for $180,000. The property was listed last year at $239,900 with no takers. So you might argue it didn’t sell the same day it was listed, but you can say it sold the same day it was listed at the right price. The current tax assessment is $194,900 so it seems that this was a pretty good deal and a great way to have access to Winnipesaukee this summer.

Over at 357 Old Lakeshore Road in Gilford, what appears to be a picture perfect 1,908 square foot, three bed, three bath cape sold in one day (really–one day.) Why? Well, I am not sure if the house was perfect, but the pictures sure make it look that way. The home has a nice open layout with hardwood floors, a well appointed kitchen with center island and what appear to be stainless appliances, a living room with wood stove, a family room off the kitchen, and a spacious deck with a hot tub. The house sits on a private 2.76 acre lot with lots of privacy. It was priced at $214,000 and sold at full price which is well under the assessed value of $235,240. Not a lot of arguing went on here! It looks like a great property that was presented well and was offered at the right price. Sold!

A wonderful antique cape with all the charm and curb appeal of a Currier and Ives painting sold in just two days at 30 Pleasant Street in Meredith. This 1875 vintage home has 1,400 square feet of living space, three bedrooms, one bath, two wood stoves, and lots of upgrades including Brazilian hardwood flooring. There’s a great wrap-around porch to sit on and a picket white fence to complete the picture. As an added bonus there is also a 28’ boat slip included about 100 yards away at the Meredith Nautical Club! Sweet! This property is assessed at $162,800 and was listed at $199,900 and sold for $200,500. What’s that tell you. It was a pretty nice deal especially with the boat slip and I suspect there were several interested parties…

There were a number of other sales that happened at the speed of “Ahhh.” The speed of “Ahhh” is extremely fast. It’s equivalent to the speed of light but in the alternate reality of real estate sales. It is usually achieved when a switch in the buyer’s brain gets tripped and jolts the bejesus out of him. The buyer has the proverbial epiphany and realizes that (a) “Ahhh, this is a really, really nice property” or (b) “Ahhh, this is a really, really great price”, or (c) both, in which case that is when the “Ahhh, haaa” moment happens. “Ahhh Haaa” houses always sell very quickly.

Here are a few other “Ahhh Haaa” Houses:

33 Vineyard Way in Belmont  Sold in 2 days…

44 St. Catherine Street in Laconia  Sold in 5 days

47 Ossipee Mountain Road in Moultonborough  Sold in 4 days 

Hey! There were fourteen waterfront sales on  Winnipesaukee in March! That’s a pretty good month in my book. The average sales price came in at $797,086 and there were three sales over the million dollar mark. Last March there were just six sales at an average price of $986,667. For the first quarter of 2011 there have been twenty six sales on the lake at an average of $807,469 compared to seventeen sales at an average of $857,471 for the same period last year. That’s a 52% increase in total sales and a great start to the new year!

The least expensive home sold on the lake last month was at 24 Notla Lane in Alton. This 1950’s cottage looks like a place where you can really kick back and relax. It has 2,014 square feet of living space with three bedrooms, two baths, a living room with the requisite stone fireplace, lots of windows, and is finished in knotty pine paneling for that lake feel. The third acre lot has 100’ of waterfront and a great little boat house with a deck up top to watch the sunsets from. Pretty cool. This home was listed at $549,000 and was only on the market for 34 days before being snapped up at $497,500 by a happy buyer. The property is assessed by the town at $481,500.

Over in Moultonborough at 7 Blackey Cove there is a beautiful 5,000 square foot contemporary home that also has a happy new owner. This home has a bright open concept floor plan with a wonderful great room with cathedral ceilings, pine flooring, floor to ceiling stone fireplace, and fifteen sets of French doors that open to the large deck with beautiful westerly views on Blackey Cove. The kitchen/dining area has wood ceilings, granite countertops, a continuation of the pine flooring, and lake views as well. There is a first floor master suite, three guest bedrooms upstairs plus a large game room over the attached garage. The walk out lower level has a family room, den, and three “additional” rooms. I wonder what goes on in there? This home sits on a level .7 acre lot with 100’ of shore front, sandy beach, dock, and great westerly sunset views. This property was originally listed at $1.499 million, reduced to $1.499 million, and sold for $1.14 million after 190 days on the market. The tax assessed value is $1,343,100.

The largest sale of the month was also in Moultonborough at 39 Gregson Lane which is also on Blackey Cove. This 3,000 square foot Adirondack was just completed and has the sought after open concept floor plan with the large great room with cathedral ceiling, stone fireplaces, lots of natural woodwork, and a first floor master. There’s an office and a bedroom on the second level and a family room and exercise room in the lower level walkout. The house is listed as a two bedroom home because the size of the lot constrains it to a two bedroom septic, although it says that a three bedroom septic was installed. Confused? Me, too. But I bet the buyer wasn’t. Anyway, this home was originally listed at $1.65 million, was reduced to $1.595, and sold for $1.45 million. The tax assessed value is listed at $985,000 because the home was under construction. It won’t stay at that number long…

There were no sales on either Winnisquam or Squam in March which is kind of unusual, but things have been slow on both lakes. In fact there has only been one sale on each lake so far this year. I think we gotta start using better bait…

The residential home inventory in the twelve Lakes Region towns in this report jumped up again from 994 properties on the market last month to 1080 as of April 1. That total is also up from 1018 last April 1st. The average price for homes on the market stands at $515,577. Remember, that’s just the average asking price. With the average selling price in February at just $209,000, you can kind of tell what is selling…

I saw a movie on the Netflix steaming service which may be the earliest and best movie about real estate. It should be required viewing for anyone contemplating getting their real estate license. This early silent movie was filmed in 1921 in Germany and was set in the fictitious city of Wisborg where a real estate broker named Knock had his firm. He was marketing property in the nearby sate of Transylvania to get buyers. Since Al Gore hadn’t invented the internet, he was using the Transylvania Sun to reach prospective new clients in this remote area. You can probably guess where this is leading…

Anyway, Knock gets a letter from a buyer named Count Orlock who wants to buy a home in Wisborg. Knock gets one of his rookie agents, a handsome guy named Hutter who desperately needs a sale, to go to Transylvania to seal the deal on a run-down split level house which happens to be directly across the street from his own home. Hutter travels by boat to Transylvania and then by carriage into the mountains to meet the buyer at his castle. Why a guy in a castle wants a split level in Wisborg will become clear later.

On his journey, he stops at an inn to eat and rest. He had left his Kindle at home but happens to find a book in his room to read himself to sleep. Unfortunately, it was a book on vampires so the sleeping part didn’t go so well. The next morning he takes the carriage further into the mountains. But the drivers refused to go anywhere near the Count’s castle so he has to walk the final few miles. He is furious that there are no Dunkin Donuts shops anywhere along the way. When he finally arrives at the castle the Count greets him outside. He seems nice enough but he is one of the creepiest, ugliest little dudes you have ever met. He was very gaunt looking and had a big bald head, huge ears, piercing eyes, gnarly teeth, and fingers about a foot long. But Hutter is a determined agent (i.e. starving.) He shows the Count the MLS listing info and after a wonderful dinner the Count signs on the dotted line to buy the property.

Hutter retires to his room for the evening. In the middle of the night the Count appears in his room and scares the daylights out of him. This scene is probably as spooky as anything you’ll see in any movie anywhere! Really. The next morning he awakes with what appear to be a couple huge mosquito bites on his neck. Hmmm… He leaves his room to talk to his new client but can’t find the Count anywhere. He finally goes down to the basement and finds the count lying dormant in a coffin. He realizes this guy is a vampire. Being a new agent, this scares him as he has never had a buyer that bites. He’ll learn to get used to that after a while.

Now he’s really scared and hides in his room. Later that evening he looks out the window and sees the Count loading coffins onto a TUPS wagon (that’s Transylvania United Parcel Service—that’s where UPS got started). The count climbs into the last coffin and ships himself to Wisborg via a TUPS schooner. Hutter finds he is locked in the castle but climbs out a three story window on a ripped up Garnet Hill sheet and makes his way home by horseback. He arrives home at the same time as the Count’s ship enters port. Everyone on the ship has disappeared except the captain who is dead but tied to the wheel (unlike that Italian ship captain who tipped his ship over.) The count sneaks of the ship with his coffin and moves into the split level across from Hutter. The harbor master arrives to inspect the ship and chalks up the carnage to the plague.

Hutter gets to his house and tells his beautiful wife, Ellen, what has been going on. After reading the book on vampires that Hutter stole from the inn, she realizes they’re in deep trouble. The book says that the only way to kill a vampire is for a beautiful woman who is pure of heart to distract the vampire until the sun comes up and the sunlight will kill him. She can see the Count eyeballing her from across the street. She realizes that she has been chosen and sure enough Count Orlock comes to her room in the moonlight. Hutter was apparently so tired from trying to make a living he never wakes up until it is too late. Count Orlock is so taken by Ellen, he keeps munching on her neck until the sun comes through the widows and he goes up in a cloud of smoke.

The moral of the story here is that if you market real estate in a neighboring state and you get a buyer, be careful not to sell them a house across the street as they might suck as a neighbor. Seriously, the movie is called “Nosferatu” and is an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. While lacking the Spielberg special effects, it is considered to be one of the best vampire movies of all time and worth watching if you are a horror film fan or a budding real estate agent.

There were 59 single family homes sold in February in the twelve towns covered by this Lakes Region real estate report. The average sales price came in at $209,025 with 72% of the sales coming in under the $200,000 mark. That’s an 18% increase over the 50 sales last February although the average sales price took a slight drop from the $216,025 amount posted last year. For the first two months of 2012 the total number of sales in these towns are up 22%. Not a bad way to start the year off!

I watched some of the Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the Cable guy, and Bill Engvall’s HBO comedy special the other night. It was called “Them Idiots, Whirled Tour. ” Jeff Foxworthy is well known for his “You might be a redneck if…” jokes. These guys are extremely funny. Maybe not to the Madison Avenue crowd, but to “blue collar” folks that make up a lot of this country. Anyway, it confirmed my opinion that even in this part of the “whirled,” the Lakes Region that is, there are plenty of rednecks. I consider myself at least part redneck and I’m proud of it. But as a REALTOR® I am keenly aware that sometimes redneck habits and housekeeping can be a bit of a deterrent when it comes to selling a home. But sometimes not…

Here are some key indicators to help you determine if you are a redneck homeowner and some recommended corrective measures if you are trying to sell your home. You might be a redneck home owner if: You have two snow machines in your front yard…and it is July. Definitely remove them. If you have three cars in the driveway and two of them are on blocks. Remove the disabled ones or put the wheels back on. If you have a tree that has grown up through the camper trailer in the yard please remove the tree and the camper. If there is more crap in your yard than in your house please go to the dump. The crap in your yard is not going to sell and neither is your house while it is there.

You might be a redneck home owner if you have more than one blue tarp covering articles of questionable value in your yard. Blue might be a nice color, but remove the tarps and the junk underneath them. If the blue tarp is covering your roof because it leaks call Lakes Region Roofing and you will increase your odds of selling by 100%. If your home still has Tyvek showing on one or more sides, finish the siding on your home! While rednecks consider Tyvek a low maintenance siding, most other buyers don’t. If you used old license plates to side a part of your home or the garage, remove them.

If you still have one of those six foot wire mesh satellite dishes in your yard you might be a redneck homeowner or at the very least technologically obsolete. Remove it. The same goes for the three antennas on the roof. If your grass is taller than your dog, cut it. Get rid of the six foot tall “burn pile” in the back yard. I know you wanted to wait until the 4th of July, but you can’t.

The inside of your castle is also important. If you have more than three dead animals on the wall it could be an issue. It could offend some, but you don’t necessarily have to remove them. This is NH after all. If duct tape is the main tool in your arsenal to repair things inside the home you have a problem. Call, or use your CB radio to call, a professional and get things fixed correctly. If the only light bulb in your basement is the one at the end of a twenty foot long, frayed extension cord near the back of the room, no one is going down there and no one is going to buy the place. Varnished plywood is not an acceptable flooring alternative.

Now there are places in this “whirled” where redneck homes are totally acceptable; in neighborhoods of redneck homes that is. I call them “pockets of redneck lifestyle.” Redneck homes are often bought by other rednecks without a second thought. But it can still be tough to sell a redneck home, especially if you are the only one in the neighborhood. If you feel that you could be a the lone redneck homeowner in your neighborhood, take a step out your front door and look both left and right. If there are no cars on blocks or snow machines on the front lawns of your neighbors and you have one or both you are definitely the Lone Ranger here. This might also explain why your neighbors have never talked to you…

There were seven waterfront sales on Winnipesaukee in February at an average price of $606,429. That doesn’t sound real impressive but there were just six sales last February at an average price of $467,667 so we are one up for the month. Obviously, you have to the more expensive homes selling to get a high average sales price and that was just not the case last month.

The highest sale of the month honors go to a tastefully remodeled contemporary home at 9 Garden Park Road in West Alton. This 1970’s vintage, four bedroom, three bath, 2.837 square foot home was totally rehabbed in 2004. The main level features a living room with wood fireplace, dining room, gourmet kitchen, plus two bedrooms while the master suite and an office are found on the second level. The walk out lower level has a family room with another fireplace, a second kitchen, and an additional guest bedroom. There are panoramic views from most rooms in the home and from the large deck. The house sits on a .2 acre lot with 68 feet of frontage and a covered boat slip. This property was originally listed in 2008 for $1.3 million, relisted in March of 2011 for $995,000, was reduced to $969,000, and then sold for $875,000 after 277 days on the market. The property was assessed by the Town of Alton for $746,800 when listed last year but has since dropped to $699,000.

I really like the property that sold at 176 Castle Shore Road in Moultonborough. This high quality, custom built, 1,900 square foot, two bedroom, contemporary ranch features a warm pine interior with post and beam construction and has a really great look. The open concept floor plan features a great room with soaring ceilings and fieldstone fireplace, dining area, and gourmet kitchen. The master suite also has beamed ceilings and a gas fireplace. The three season porch, as well as every other room, has fantastic lake views. There is also a detached one car garage with a bedroom above for your unexpected guests. It sits on a .83 acre lot with 100 feet of shorefront, sandy beach, and dock. This home was originally listed at $1.15 million, reduced to $899,000, and sold for $875,000 after 139 days on the market. It is assessed for $868,700. This home is one of those places that looks like it really belongs on the lake–a place that you can really escape to!

Also in Moultonborough at a buyer got a particularly good deal on a seven room, two bath, 1,152 square foot contemporary cape in the community of Balmoral. This 1978 vintage home was solid but needed some updating. I suspect the new owner is already making changes and getting the place ready for summer. This home has an open concept main level with a closed in porch that is by now part of the main living room. The lower walkout level has a one car garage plus some unfinished space that will soon be a family room. It sits on a .2 acre level lot with 70 feet of frontage with a fantastic sandy beach. I think the buyer got a particularly good deal on this property as it was originally listed at $399,000, reduced to $365,000, and sold for $335,000. The town has it assessed for $421,000 and it was actually appraised for $465,000. The buyer is extremely happy with this purchase!

Unfortunately, there were no sales on Winnisquam or Squam in February. This means that I have less to write about this week which makes my job easier although I’d rather report on a record number of sales on each lake. That’s a lot more exciting. I do expect that sales and property values will pick up on Winnisquam when the new canal opens connecting it to Winnipesaukee early next summer. Smile, we can dream can’t we?

The residential home inventory in the Lakes Region is beginning its annual trek up to the higher summer elevations. The number of single family homes available in the communities in this report rose marginally from 975 available last month to 994 homes this month at an average asking price of $529,574 and a median of $255,000. Last March there were 957 homes on the market at an average price of $552,033 and a median price of $279,900. The current inventory represents a 15 month supply of homes on the market which is still over double the amount considered for a healthy market.

So what is a CMA? If you Google “CMA” on your computer to find out what it stands for, the first thing that comes up is the Country Music Association. We mostly recognize that for the annual awards show, Johnny Cash, George Jones, and Sugarland. It also stands for “Certified Management Accountant”, the “Cabinet Maker’s Association”, the “California Medical Association”, the “Columbus Museum of Art”, and the “Connecticut Maritime Museum.” Two others that you wouldn’t necessarily think of are the “Christian Motorcycle Association” and “Crystal Meth Anonymous.”

In the real estate world, “CMA” stands for “Comparative Market Analysis” but that didn’t seem to come up in my Google search until about the seventh page. The “Colorado Mining Association” came up well before “Comparative Market Analysis.” A real estate CMA is an estimate of a home’s value in the current marketplace. The CMA is usually offered free of charge and prepared by real estate agents for home owners that are considering selling their property.

How do agents determine the value of your home? In the past, some agents used the tried and true Acme Real Estate Pricing System. This fine product is available only to licensed agents and can be purchased on Amazon.com for $59.95. It comes with five cork pricing boards with one for each kind of property; residential, waterfront, condo, mobile homes, and land. The newer, improved version comes with seven tungsten steel darts instead of usual five. By using the appropriate board and averaging the prices hit, an appropriate value for the home can be ascertained. Expert agents could also bump up the price of any home by scoring a bulls eye which adds a bonus of $10,000 to the price. An optional soft tip set is also offered as there were too many on the job injuries and several lawsuits filed recently. This CMA System worked very well when the market was strong. Now, not so much.

The way most of us determine a home’s value in today’s market is more accurate but can also be difficult. We rely on the examination of recently sold and currently offered properties that are in the proximity and are similar to the subject property. But because each property is unique and there are so few sales in most categories it is often difficult to find enough comparable properties to utilize. Experienced agents will determine where a home “fits” in the marketplace and price it to be competitive with what’s on the market while making sure that there are comparable sold properties to justify the sales price during the bank appraisal process. More weight should always be given to the comparable sold properties as some of the currently listed homes invariably had their prices computed using the dart board method.

I really don’t like the term “Comparative Market Analysis” very much. Sometimes it’s called a “Comprehensive Comparative Market Analysis.” Why not call it the “Complete, Colorful, Comprehensive, Comparative Market Analysis?” I would prefer to call it a “Broker Price Opinion” as it is simple and to the point. But that term seems to be reserved for pricing opinions done by agents on behalf of banks and mortgage companies that have foreclosed on a property. They’re just trying to figure out how much they lost on that deal. I thought of “Compendious Market Analysis” but that sounds the same. “Embracive Pricing Estimate” is all encompassing but sounds to abrasive. In keeping with the times, we could call it an “Omnibus Opinion of Offering Price Options” but that’s too wordy and sounds political.

How about, the “Right Price Right Now Report?” Clean, simple, and to the point. No fancy words, just facts.

Just about everyone knows what a “Lake Effect” is. Well, maybe some of the people in the Southwest might not know. But certainly, if you have been to Chicago, Buffalo, or Syracuse you know how much more snow and bad weather you can get along the shores of the Great Lakes. Winnipesaukee has a Lake Effect, too. The big lake can have its own weather. It can have a calming effect on most people and it can also cause some people to drink excessively and act foolish. But that is not the Lake Effect I am talking about.

I thought it might be helpful to take a closer look at the Lake Effect with regard to the average sales prices of homes in the communities in this report. This is the Lakes Region and every town in this report has waterfront property and every month there could be any number of waterfront homes sold. It is not unusual to have several sales exceeding a million dollars each month and none the next resulting in some wild swings in the average sales price results from month to month. A different kind of snow, so to speak. These sales also inflate the average sales price numbers over the course of the year and might give some people the impression that the Lakes Region is not very affordable for the average Joe. I was driving to work the other day behind Joe in his old truck and I know he lives here somewhere. I also know that he is cheap, so there must be lots of affordable housing out there somewhere.

As I have reported (just about every month, I think), over 50% of the homes in the area are sold for under $200,000. As a matter of fact, I sold one last week for $24,500, but I’m not saying you could actually live in it. The point is even though you see an average sales price for some months coming it at $350,000 or $475,000 it doesn’t mean that homes are out of reach for old Joe. It is just that in some towns with high end waterfronts the numbers get tweaked a little by blowing snow.

The following chart shows the total number of residential sales in 2011 and the average sales price for each town in the second and third columns. The last two columns show the total number of non-waterfront sales and the average sales price without the waterfronts added in. Some towns, like Meredith and Moultonborough, have a large percentage of their sales coming from lakefront properties and hence there is a huge difference in the average sales price with and without the waterfronts factored in. In Laconia where the average residential sales price in 2011 was $231,222 with waterfronts included, the average sales price drops to $194,189 with waterfront sales backed out. The average residential sales price for all transactions in 2011 was $306,460. With the waterfront sales backed out of the equation, the average sales price dropped to $198,558. So you see, the snow is not as deep as you thought…