Last September residential home sales in the towns covered by this report were strong with 91 transactions at an average sales price of $263,411. Sales this September were weaker with only 68 sales at an average price of $213,838. Sixty three percent of the transactions were under the $200,000 mark and only ten percent were over $400,000. With three quarters of the year done we stand at 545 sales so far at an average price of $312,141. That compares to 583 sales at an average of $302,541 for the same period last year.

Real estate revolves around numbers. For example, numbers like the square footage, the size of the lot, number of bedrooms, number of baths, water frontage, road frontage, etc. There are statistical numbers such as days on market, price per foot, median price, and sales price. The sales price is obviously THE most important number to most folks. It represents the value of their home. But how does the sales price relate to the all important appraised value or assessed value?

The sales price of a home is probably the most accurate number we deal with. It is what it is. It’s what the buyer and the seller agree that the home is worth at that given time. Sometimes (well maybe most of the time) it isn’t easy getting to that number without a lot of arm wrestling, negotiations, and a little praying. Assuming that the deal is an arms-length transaction, the value of any home is set by the market place and the accepted deal. Obviously, the housing meltdown flooded the market with foreclosures and short sales and has had a pronounced negative effect on property values. There are $200,000 houses selling for $125,000 while other home owners are trying to sell similar $200,000 houses for the full amount. Nevertheless, recent sales are what are used to determine the value of other homes on the market during the appraisal process.

The appraised value of a home is a pretty critical number. If there is financing involved, the appraised value has to equal or be greater than the sales price or the lender is not going to loan money to purchase it . The lender, through a third party intermediary company, sends out an appraiser to determine the value of the home based on recent, previous sales of similar properties in the same general area. If you are buying your home for cash, then congratulations are in order. But, hopefully, you are still getting an appraisal to ensure what you are buying is worth what you are paying. Many deals today hinge upon the property appraising and it can be tough to find good comparable properties because there just aren’t that many sales in certain price ranges or areas. When a property does not appraise for the agreed upon price the buyer does not get his loan, so he doesn’t have to buy the home. If that happens, the seller needs to decide whether he wants to keep his property or sell it for less than the contract price. Obviously, this can be a point of further negotiation and some give and take between the two parties.

The assessed value of a home is what your town thinks your property is worth. Towns hire independent companies to appraise properties to determine their current values and compute the total property value for their town. They can then set the tax rate that will raise enough revenue to cover the town’s operating expenses. Whenever a town does a reevaluation of the properties in their community there are always home owners that feel their properties are assessed too high or too low. Tax assessments are also derived by looking at recent sales of properties in the community, but assessments may not be as accurate as a formal home appraisal. The towns’ tax assessors do not get to see the inside of many homes and the task of trying to fairly assess a whole town is certainly much more difficult than finding the value of a specific property.

Right now, we are seeing many properties selling below their assessed value because we are in a very difficult market. For the most part, if you buy a home below the tax assessed value you probably got a good deal, but many times you have to spend a lot of money to get the home back up to snuff. You have to carefully consider the condition of the home. Conversely, there are many homes that sell over the assessed value every month and with good reason. These homes generally are those that are of high quality, are in nicer condition, have had upgrades not reflective in the assessments, or have intrinsic value associated with views or waterfront properties. It could also be that the assessed value was not reflective of what is really there. Generally speaking, the homes that sold for over assessed value probably have at least one thing in common: they all appraised for the purchase price or higher.

Comparing the assessed value of a home that is for sale to its asking price is a good place to start your evaluation of the property but it should not be the end of it as there are a lot of other factors to consider. Think of the assessment as kind of a base line. Of the 62 sales in September where the current assessed value could be determined, 40 of the sales were under the assessed value but 22 sales were over it. That’s why you need a REALTOR® working with you to advise you based on his knowledge of the market place and values.

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Residential homes sales in the Lakes Region communities covered by this market report jumped a healthy 23% in August compared to the same month last year. There were 83 sales last month at an average of $330,718 compared to 67 last August at an average of $411,780. A 23% increase in sales is welcome news but one month doesn’t make a trend. On a rolling twelve month basis we are still off last year’s pace…just a bit. For the twelve month period ending 8/31/10 there were 772 sales at an average of $312,389. For the twelve month period ending 8/31/11 there have been 758 sales at an average of $331,556. Hopefully, a strong fall sales season will bring us up over last year’s total numbers.

As usual, about 50% (49.4% to be exact) of the sales were under $200,000. The sale to asking price percentage averaged 93%. One statistic that perhaps tells a little more of a story is the sale to the original asking price percentage. Last month the sales price was 88% of the original asking price which means that there was a 5% reduction on average in the original asking price before the homes went under contract. Sale prices averaged 95% of the home’s assessed value (for the homes reporting the assessed value in the MLS system).

There were a number of quick sales last month and it is always interesting to see what sold and why.The quickest sale, at least according to the MLS system, was a home that sold the same day it was put on the market only it was never on the market. Huh? It was actually a For Sale By Owner, that a quick thinking agent named Jason had in the back of his mind and showed to his client that had exhausted the other possibilities. It turns out that the buyer had always wanted this property and didn’t know it was for sale. This turn of the century Winnisquam waterfront property at 20 Winnicoash Street in Laconia has 1,624 square feet of living space, three bedrooms, 1 ½ baths, a one car garage, and sits on a .31 acre lot with 94’ of water frontage. The asking price was $480,000 and it sold for $457,674 which was well under the assessed value of $523,200.

Another extremely quick sale was at 44 Driftwood Drive in Moultonborough. This Winnipesaukee waterfront home was built in 2000 and has 2,924 square feet of living area, a master bedroom suite, three guest rooms , three full baths, cathedral ceilings, gas fireplace, and a two car garage on a .63 acre lot with 100 feet of frontage with southern exposure. This property was listed for $859,000 and sold for $825,000 after just two days on the market. The town’s current tax assessment is $943,000. Good deal, quick sale, happy seller, and happy buyer!

Over at 26 Hunter Court in Belmont an older 70’s vintage two bedroom, two bath, 1416 square foot ranch with a two car garage on a 1.11 acre lot also found a quick buyer. This property was listed at $134,900 and got a full price offer after only five days on the market. This great entry level home is currently assessed for $193,600.

Another ranch at 104 Waukewan Road in Center Harbor also sold for well under assessed value. This home was built in 1979 and has 1,536 square feet of living area with three bedrooms, two full baths, hardwood floors throughout, and a two car garage. It sits on a sunny 1.15 acre lot near the Waukewan Golf Course so I hope the new owners like to chase those little white balls around. This home was listed at $199,900 and sold for $187,500 after only 8 days on the market. The assessed value is $287,900. Are you beginning to see the trend?

A great little cottage with access to Hills Pond at 197 Alton Shores Road in Alton also sold in just 9 days. This four room, two bedroom, 680 square foot get-a-way is cute as a button and sits on .56 acres with two lots of record. The property is seasonal, but at only $93,500 it makes a great little summer vacation property. Perhaps you can go there to hide from the Mrs. or vice versa. The town’s current tax assessment is $117,1000.

So there you have it. Five quick sales; two waterfronts, two small ranches, one water access, and more accurately, five good deals.

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August was a great month for sales on Lake Winnipesaukee.

There were:

• Eighteen waterfront sales at an average price of $827,589.

• They sold at an average of 97% of their assessed value

• They sold at an average of 91% of the asking price.

• The highest sale was $1.669 million.

• There were 6 sales over $1 million.

Last August there were 14 sales on the big lake, but the average sales price was bit higher at $1.1 million. Six of those sales were over the $1 million mark as well but a $3.1 million boosted the average sales price. Anyway, it is good to see waterfronts selling well given the lackluster sales for the rest of the Lakes Region Market.

The least expensive sale was at  300 Cow Island  in Tuftonboro. Cow Island is sometimes called Guernsey Island as it was once used to quarantine cows brought from Europe (so the story goes). This property was a 1954 vintage, four bedroom cottage that was in great shape and had been owned by the same family since those cows were still there. The fully furnished cottage has been completely updated and has a new wrap-a-round deck. There’s also a separate furnished guest cottage and a workshop. There are two lots of record with 150’ of frontage, a large U shaped dock, and stunning views. This property was on the market for 837 days starting at $450,000 and had been reduce to $349,900. It may have been on the market a while, but it only took 7 days to close the deal after the happy new owner came ashore to look. The sales price was $329,000 which is just under the tax assessed value of $335,100.

The most expensive sale on the lake was at 76 West Point Road in Moultonborough. This 3,826 square foot, like-new Adirondack home was built in 2002 . It has four bedrooms, four baths, a great room with the requisite floor to ceiling stone fireplace, lots of wood, and a wall of glass for viewing the lake. There are master suites on the first and second floors and the lower level walkout has two bedrooms, a huge family room, and a pub where you can watch the ballgames. The detached three car garage has a finished second floor that can serve as additional guest space or an office. The home sits on a 1.5 acre lot with 200’ of frontage, a dock, and sensational sunset views. This home was listed at $1.769 million and sold for $1.668 million after only 113 days on the market. The town’s tax assessment value is $1.63 million.

Three homes changed hands on Winnisquam last month at an average sales price of $685,891. In August 2010, there were two sales at an average of $723,125. The largest sale on Winnisquam last month was at 98 Swain Road in Meredith. This 3,549 square foot, three bedroom, four bath home in Waldron Bay has an open floor plan with a custom kitchen, beautiful great room with cathedral ceilings and stone fireplace, lower level family room, first floor master with a gas fireplace and private deck, and an enclosed porch overlooking the lake. There are great lake views from every room. This home sits on a nicely landscaped .88 acre lot with 193 feet of frontage that has a sandy entry and dock. This home was listed in 2009 for $1.17 million, relisted this year at $999,950, and sold for $935,000 after just 36 days on the market. The property is currently assessed for $788,500.

Once again, there were no sales on Squam last month which is a little discouraging. There have only been five sales on Golden Pond so far this year. There are currently 24 properties available on Squam that have been on the market an average of 294 days. Maybe, someone has to make another movie up there…

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According to Dictionary.com:

con•cede  [kuhn-seed] verb, -ced•ed, -ced•ing. verb (used with object)

1. to acknowledge as true, just, or proper; admit: He finally conceded that she was right.

2. to acknowledge (an opponent’s victory, score, etc.) before it is officially established: to concede an election before all the votes are counted.

There are many times in life that you need to make compromises. You’ll find that you may have to give something to get something. You may have to concede something in order to succeed in something. It is no different in a real-estate transaction. Sometimes a home seller can lose sight of the fact that his goal is to actually sell his home. A seller may think he is losing and the buyer is winning if he makes concessions. It is kind of ingrained in our psyche. I think it started in grade school on the ball field. No one ever likes to concede the game…

But in a business transaction, making concessions is part of the deal making process. And in reality, selling a home is just that; a business transaction. It is not about who is right or wrong or admitting defeat, it is about compromise, and the art of making a deal work. The most common “seller concession” is a contribution toward the buyer’s closing costs. This has been common practice for many years particularly for first time buyers who have good credit but not all of the cash necessary to purchase a home. In an FHA loan, for example, the buyer has to come up with at least a 3.5% down payment but is allowed to get a contribution from the seller of up to 6% of the purchase price to cover closing costs. These costs include items such as the title search, appraisal, tax stamps, etc.

A contribution toward the buyer’s closing costs obviously is really a reduction in what the seller will net on the sale, so it should be looked at with respect to the other terms of the offer. If the buyer has made a low ball offer then he’s not likely to get a concession for closing costs, too. The seller may also feel that he does not want to accept what would be essentially a 6% reduction in his asking price, especially if his home is really (and truly) priced correctly. These days, most sellers realize that they will have to give up something so no deal should be lost over a seller concession for closing costs. Buyers are too hard to come by! If the seller really doesn’t want to contribute all that is requested, he could counter to see if the buyer could come up with part of his closing costs. If the buyer truly needs a seller contribution, all or a portion of that amount can be added on top of the purchase price so that the seller nets an amount that is acceptable to him. The property, of course, will need to appraise at the slightly higher purchase price. The buyer also has to be approved for a loan for that slightly higher amount. This can be a win win for both parties.

After the initial deal is made, other concessions may be asked for to correct defects in the home found as a result of the home inspection process. Many times there are items that arise that the buyer would like to have fixed before the closing or have another seller concession so that he can fix them later. They may, or may not, be big issues to correct. Sometimes they get blown out of proportion by either the buyer or the seller. The buyer should be aware that he might not get all, or any, of the home inspection issues corrected if he has received a large seller concession up front to make the deal happen. The buyer can also opt out of the deal and not purchase the home if the issues are too big to resolve. At that point the seller has another decision to make. He can concede something and succeed in selling his home to the buyer or put his home back on the market and hope to find another buyer. He must remember though, all the defects found in the home inspection have to be disclosed to any future potential buyer. Sometimes making a few concessions can go a long way to getting you where you want to be…

There were 1,399 residential homes for sale in the towns in this Lakes Region report at the start of September, 2010. The average asking price was $521,155 and the median price was $269,000. The inventory level is up compared to last September when there were 1,318 homes on the market. The average price then was $553,314 and the median was $285,000. The current inventory level represents a 22 month supply of homes on the market, oil is about $90.00/barrel, and unemployment is at 9.1%. But, football season is starting. So you see, there are always some bright spots…

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For the month of July, 2011 there were 70 residential home sales at an average price of $309,586 in the communities in this Lakes Region real estate report. That’s actually a pretty good 14% bump over the 61 sales last July at an average of $262,390. I was getting a little concerned about the lack luster sales over the past several months, but this is certainly an improvement. On a rolling twelve month basis we stand at 743 sales as of 7/31/2011 with an average price of $338,626, a median price of $196,000, and average time on the market of 147 days. We are down a bit when compared to the 12 month period ending 7/31/2010 when we had 772 sales, but the average and median sales price came in a bit higher than the $307,881 and $191,650 values recorded last year. The average time on market coincidentally came in the same at 147 days. As usual, about half the sales for the month of July were under $200,000. But what else can you tell about the homes that sold?

Of the 70 sales for the month of July, 28 properties are clearly vacation type homes and 42 are what you would usually consider year round primary residences. There were 10 homes that sold under $100,000, 3 of those are vacation type homes leaving 7 as year round primary residences (although that could be stretching things a bit by the looks of some of them.) Of the 26 homes that sold between $100,000 and $200,000 there were 5 vacation homes and 20 primary type homes. There were 13 homes sold between $200,000 and $300,000 of which 6 were vacation homes. Between $300,000 and $400,000 there were 10 sales with 4 of those being vacation homes. Of the 11 sales over $400,000, 10 were vacation homes, although I am not quite sure on the largest sale of the month as at $3 million plus you’d think that the buyer would live there year round—but maybe not! I guess these numbers show that (1) vacation home or second home buyers are a big part of our market and (2) they are the ones with money.

Of those 70 sales in July, it appears that just 11 of those sales were bank owned properties. I’m not sure what that means other than it is good to see real people, instead of the banks, finding the buyers. Hopefully, those sellers are staying in the Lakes Region, buying another home, and helping to whittle down our huge inventory a little.

I reported a few weeks ago that one of the more knowledgeable and highly sophisticated agents in our office told me that planting red geraniums around a house would make it sell much quicker. “Guaranteed results” he said! I promised to keep you updated on this new technology and the listing that he had just put on the market. The owner planted geraniums all around his home and the place really looks great! Well, after a little over a month on the market the home has gone under agreement. Is this a coincidence? I think not. There has to be more to this than just luck. Is there something about the color of red geraniums that is irresistible to otherwise unsusceptible and difficult buyers? The agent told me that buyers viewing the home were overcome with a sense of joy and well being just coming into the driveway! I will be initiating a plan, dubbed “Code Red” on one of my new listings this weekend. Will keep you posted…

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There were ten waterfront sales  during the month of July, 2011 on Lake Winnipesaukee at an average price of $1.223 million. That’s up from the six sales on the big pond last July at an average price of $955,333. Half of the sales for both months were over the $1 million mark but this year’s average was bumped by a nice $3 million new construction sale on Governor’s Island in Gilford. For the year thus far, there have been 51 sales on Winnipesaukee at an average price of $1.162 million compared to 45 at an average of $1.211 million for the first seven months of 2010.

As often is the case, the least expensive sale on Winni was an island property and this time it was at 842 Rattlesnake Island in Alton. This 1987 post and beam cape and an adjoining guest cottage are connected by a large deck and have a total of 2350 square feet of living space including three bedrooms. The .92 acre lot offers some great views and has 150’ of frontage, a covered boat slip, and a sandy beach. This vacation get-a-way was priced at $499,000 and went under contract in just 15 days at $465,000. The current tax assessment is $485,300. Rattlesnake Island is two miles long and rises to about 400’ above the mean water level of the lake. The story goes that Rattlesnake Island was named after the abundance of rattlesnakes that used to make their home on the island. I read that the island was once set on fire to try and get rid of the snakes. But these buyers don’t have to worry as it has been many, many years since a rattlesnake has been seen out there. I believe they all slithered down to Washington some time ago. Isn’t it amazing when you can mix real estate, lake lore, politics, and geography all in one paragraph?

Just a short distance across the lake at 23 Viewpoint Drive in Wolfeboro a property willed to Massachusetts General Hospital also found a live one (some pun intended). The 1970’s vintage ranch and separate guest cottage are likely tear down candidates on this private 1.35 acre level lot that has 360’ of frontage, a sandy beach, a 60’ permanent dock and breakwater, and long range views. This property was on the market for 675 days starting at $2 million. It was eventually reduced to $1.5 million and sold for $1.4 million. The tax assessed value is $1.729 million so it seems like someone got a good deal, but Mass General got an even better one.

The largest sale on the lake for the month was a new construction by Skiffington Homes at 432 Edgewater Drive on Governor’s Island in Gilford. This 5,000 square foot, four bedroom, four and a half bath Adirondack lake home has four fireplaces, a first floor master suite, the requisite great room and gourmet kitchen, lower level walkout, bonus rooms over the three car garage, and the high quality fit and finish that Skiffington Homes are known for. This home sits on a prime 1.06 acre lot with 185’ of frontage, boat dock, and great long views. The purchase price of $3.1 million exceeded the asking price of $2.995 undoubtedly due to upgrades and changes requested by the lucky new owner.

Over on Winnisquam there was but one sale in July and that was at 24 Lakeside Drive in Belmont. This property is a 1924 square foot log home built in 1995 which has two bedrooms, two and a half baths, a living room with wood burning fireplace, lower level family room, 50’ of frontage, a sandy beach, and, most importantly, a boathouse. This home was originally offered at $524,900, reduced to $499,000, and sold for $470,000 after 240 days on the market. The Town of Belmont has the property assessed for $456,800. It looks like a neat place and I bet the buyer is having a great time this summer!

There was also only one sale on Squam and that was at 119 Keewaydin Road in Center Harbor. This 1971 vintage cape style home has 2,280 square feet of living space, three bedrooms, a finished family room in the basement, a three season porch, and a nice deck overlooking Dog Cove. The beautiful 1.08 acre lot is at the very end of the road and has 190’ of unspoiled frontage plus all the Squam Lake appeal imaginable. The new owners are planning to build their dream home on Golden Pond. This property was offered last year at $1.695 million, relisted at $1.299 million this year and sold for $1.105 million. The property is assessed for $1.61 million.

In the Three Stooges 1940 short film “No Census, No Feeling,” the Stooges are census takers (some say the census takers are now the stooges!). Curly answers a question about where he was born with “Lake Winnipesaukee.” When Moe asks him to spell it, he stammers a few syllables but blurts out “Make that Lake Erie. I’ve got an uncle there!”

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As the dog days of August heat up, there are 1412 single family homes on the market in the communities in this Lakes Region real estate report. That’s up from 1344 on the market last August 1. The average asking price is down from $539,186 last August 1 to $517,674. The median is also down from $279,950 to $269,000. The homes on the market represent a 22.8 month supply at the current sales pace. That, as you might guess, is also up from last August. Let’s hope that this great weather brings lots of tourist and potential home buyers to the area…we need them badly.

This steamy summer weather can create some real turnoffs for buyers that seem more pronounced when it is hot. There are also some simple steps you can take that would make your home more appealing if you are trying to find that all elusive buyer.

Probably the biggest turn off to a buyer is odor. You might have noticed odors only get worse in the hot weather. While the dog days of summer are not referring to dog (or cat) odors, it might as well be as far as real estate is concerned. Nothing will kill a showing quicker than pet odors on a ninety five degree day. Unless, that is, the homeowner is a smoker and likes to keep their home shut up tight for that enhanced second hand nicotine effect. Anyway, if you own pets, have your carpets shampooed, make sure the litter box and especially the back yard is kept clean (you really don’t want the buyers tracking stuff inside, do you?), and that you take the four legged children with you while the home is being shown. Some buyers, believe it or not, are afraid of dogs. A barking fido can also be a bit distracting when you are trying to show a home. Put some fresh flowers out or bake some brownies to create a pleasing aroma.

If you have air conditioning turn it on! Let’s show the potential new owner how comfortable your home is. He’ll not only know that you have air conditioning the minute he walks in but that it actually works. If you have a basement, you probably have high humidity down there creating sweating water pipes and increasing the possibility of mold growth. Basements can smell musty and moldy so why take that risk. A dehumidifier is a must in most basements in hot weather so if you have one turn it on. Creating a comfortable experience during a showing might just help you sell your place.

Let the sunshine in! Nobody likes to view a home in the dark with the shades all drawn. Open the curtains and blinds. Most buyers today are looking for bright spaces, not dark closets. Obviously, if you are going to shine some light on your home, make sure it is spotless.

Make sure your lawn is mowed. Having grass two feet tall is a sign that the home owner doesn’t take care of the property, not to mention it ruins the home’s curb appeal. Also keep the lawn watered to keep the grass green throughout the summer showing season. A brown, dead lawn is not going to help your curb appeal either. Make sure your plants and flowers look great and set them off with some fresh bark mulch in the beds. One highly experienced agent informed me that to make a home sell quickly have the owner plant lots of red geraniums. He said it is guaranteed to work. He just got a new listing and his sellers have planted them everywhere. The place looks fantastic! I am anxious to see if this works. It sounds better than burying a St. Joseph statue in the yard because you can at least see the geraniums. I’ll report back on the progress. If it works I’m going to start buying them for my clients…

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There were 77 residential home sales last month in the communities listed in this Lakes Region real estate market report. That’s down a bit from the 88 sales last June. But the average sales price came in considerably higher at $476,304 compared to $292,586 in June 2010. The higher average seems to have originated from a strong month in Moultonborough where seven sales closed in excess of $1 million. Not a bad month there with 19 sales at an average of $1,072,761! Laconia also had a pretty good sales tally with 16 homes exchanging hands. It appears that about a third of the sales for the month were waterfront or vacation type homes.

OK, I like really like milestones such as being halfway through the year. It seems to mean more when you can compare results for the first half of one year to another. Must be some sort of psychological thing or something. But it doesn’t mean you have to like the results. In the case of comparing our Lakes Region real estate sales for the first half of this year to last, the results aren’t great. It is another one of those glasses that are half empty or half full depending on your perspective. So here it is; for the first six months of 2011 there were 325 residential sales, which is 10% less than the 364 we had in the first half of 2010. The average price though is up from $298,945 to $328,294 so that’s on the plus side. We are also up compared to the first half of 2009 when there were 306 sales at an average of $254,071. So it’s kind of a couple of steps forward and one back…

Everybody today is getting a “smart phone”, an “Ipad”, or some sort of “tablet” to help them get through the technological and informational quagmire of the day. Then there are all these different “apps” that you can get for them that will do everything from telling you where to get the cheapest gas to what movies are playing where to following your stock market investments. There are also a lots of real estate apps available for these devices to help tech savvy buyers find information about homes. There’s a REALTOR.com app, Trulia and Zillow apps, a Smarter Agent app with a GPS, mortgage calculator apps, real estate vocabulary and dictionary apps, apps for home flippers (that must be a good one!), and apps to find rental properties. How’s that saying go? Whatever you need, “There’s an app for that!”

While all of this technology in the palm of your hand is amazing and quite helpful I am not sure where it is all going to end up. Information today is instantly available to home buyers in so many methods and formats that it boggles the mind. I think that we are all suffering a little from information overload. Sometimes there is so much info available that home buyers get caught up over analyzing the property that they want to buy. Maybe things need to be a little simpler? There needs to be a way to sort all of this information and make sense of it. Well now there’s an app for that, too!

The app is called “REALTORG”. That’s pronounced loudly as “RRRREEEEELLLLTOOOORRRGGG!” like the announcer in the ring at the World Wrestling Federation. Impressive, huh? This app is designed to take all the extraneous bits of jumbled information gathered by home buyers and uses a unique and patented common sense approach to sorting and enhancing the data. This app has been developed from years of real world experience. Imagine an app that can tell you so much more about a property than the limited factual property information you get from those run of the mill real estate apps! Things like; what’s around the property, is it in a nice area, what’s the condition of the home, do the pictures really reflect what the house looks like, or is the home a good value? It helps you make common sense decisions about buying or selling a home. That’s something other apps can’t do. This app could revolutionize the real estate world! And its free! It doesn’t download into your smart phone, I Pad, or “tablet”, but it is readily available to home buyers everywhere. This app is your local REALTOR® and he’s been around awhile so there are no bugs to work out. Call him for a 90 day free trial. Guaranteed no problems downloading.

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Yeah! Summer is really here. The temperature is heating up and it finally feels like it is lake weather. It’s time to get out on the boat and enjoy it. There were twelve waterfront sales sales on Winnipesaukee in June which is a 50% increase over June of last year. That’s pretty encouraging! And there were some large sales, too! In fact ten of the twelve sales were over the million mark. There were three sales in the $2-3 million range and one over $4 million. The average sales price last month was $1.778 million compared to $1.376 million last June and the total volume for the month was slightly over $21 million compared to $12.6 last June. That’s a pretty good month in my book.

The least expensive sale on the lake was at 13 Acadia Lane in Alton. This lakeside fifties vintage, 728 square foot, two bedroom cottage was a bank owned property that has had some recent updates including a metal roof and vinyl siding. The home sits on a one third acre lot with 100’ of frontage and a dock. The home was only on the market a month before some buyers jumped on it so they could enjoy the lake for the summer. It was priced at $385,000 and actually sold for more at $425,000. Sounds like there could have been a little bidding going on for this one. The current tax assessed value is $497,200 so it would seem that the buyer still got a good deal.

On the higher end pricing spectrum, across the lake in Moultonborough at 11 Mallard Way, there is a waterfront that is about ten times larger that also has a new owner. This Adirondack style home has 7,500 square feet of living space with seventeen rooms, six bedrooms, eight baths, and a whole lot of quality! This Skiffington home was built in 2004 and features post and beam construction, a gourmet custom kitchen, a fabulous great room with soaring ceilings, five fireplaces, a large family/game room on the walk out lower level, first floor master suite, a three room suite over the three car heated garage, and sweeping decks. The home sits on a 1.1 acre lot with beautiful landscaping, great sunset views, 156’ of frontage, a perched beach, and a covered dock. This home was originally listed on New Year’s Eve in 2008 for $3.999 million and again in September of 2009 for the same amount. It was listed again in November of 2010 for $3.495 million and sold for $2.9 million after a combined total of 750 days on the market. The current tax assessed value is $2,864,300. I wonder if there was confetti dropping and they were blowing horns when this one sold?

The highest sale on the lake last month was also in Moultonborough at 31 Wallace Point. This beautiful 10,000 square foot lodge style waterfront has fifteen rooms, seven bedrooms, nine baths, a grand living room with fieldstone fireplace, cathedral ceilings and exposed beams, a lower level family/pool room plus a lower level living room, and master suites on the first and second levels. This magnificent home sits on a professionally landscaped 1.89 acre lot with 235’ of frontage that has a sandy beach, two bay boat house, plus a permanent 58’ crib dock. As with many homes in this market, this one took a while to sell, too. It was originally listed in 2008 at $6.495 million, in 2009 at $5.295 million, in 2010 at $4.795 million, and this year at $4.495 million finally selling at $4.325 million after a combined total of 367 days on the market. The current assessed value is $3.639 million. Anyone see any trends here?

There have been a total of 41 Winnipesaukee sales for the first half of 2011 at an average of $1.172 million compared to 38 sales for the first half of 2010 at an average of $1.28 million. I’d say that’s holding our own in this economy!

Over on Winnisquam there were four waterfront sales with the largest being in Laconia at 126 Shore Drive This sixties vintage ranch had 3,900 square feet of living space, four bedrooms, three baths, a large living room, two fireplaces, and a family room in the walkout lower level. The one third acre lot has 100’ of frontage, a sandy beach, dock, and fabulous sunset views. This home was snapped up after one day on the market at the full asking price of $699,000 which is slightly above the current $665,000 tax assessment. A great deal in a great Winnisquam neighborhood. There have been thirteen sales on Winnisquam during the first half of 2011 at an average of $470,204 compared to just seven for the first half of 2010 at an average of $521,571. I’d say things are going pretty well on Winnisquam so far this year!

There weren’t any sales on Squam last month and only three sales through June 30th this year, but that is three more sales than the first half of last year. I’m not sure what’s going on up there but there are 24 homes on the lake for sale ranging from $399,000 to over $8 million so hopefully sales will pick up over the summer months. Maybe people have forgotten that the elusive lake trout “Walter” (or actually his descendant) is still out there. I read that “Walter” was brought over to Squam for the movie from a trout pond at the Castle in the Clouds. Ahhh, he wasn’t a Squamy after all…

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We are halfway through 2011. So is the real estate glass half empty or half full? If you are looking at the total number of listings in the twelve Lakes Region communities in this report, you’d have to say that the glass is way more than half full, it is actually overflowing. As of July 1, there were 1389 residential listings available. That’s up 8% over the 1277 homes that were available last July 1. That’s a lot of homes on the market. A 22.75 month supply to be exact. The average asking price is down from $551,288 last July 1 to $525,250 this July. The median price is down as well from $285,000 to $269,000. So while we have a huge glut of homes on the market which is bad, there is a huge selection for buyers to choose from at lower prices which is good. I get accused of being too positive all the time about our real estate market, so this time you get to decide if the glass is half full or empty…

With all these houses on the market and with so few selling there is no doubt that we sometimes see more homes expire in a month than actually sell. It’s just the nature of the market right now. It is extremely frustrating for sellers and agents alike. Sellers have to work hard to keep their home in show ready condition and agents work twice as hard marketing and showing the property. It is tough when there are so many homes available and so few buyers. It seems that the moon and stars need to be aligned just right to find a buyer. It also seems like it is always a question of is the house being marketed properly, is the house listed at the right price, or are there just no buyers looking right now?

When the listing term expires on a home there is a decision to be made by the owner. Should he continue with his existing agent or go find someone else? The answer to that question should be based on the performance of the listing agent and how the home was marketed. Most agents work very hard to get their listings sold. After all, none of us get paid unless we make a sale. Sometimes, a seller doesn’t understand how the agency markets his property or how much the agent actually does for him. But let’s assume for the moment that the listing agency and agent are doing everything they should be doing. And, no, that does not mean doing public open houses every week. That doesn’t work.

Then consider the price of the home. It is the owner that has the final say on price. Agents recommend, owners decide. Sometimes the homeowner just wants way too much. Sometimes he has no choice and has to price the home at a certain level so he can pay off the mortgage. And, in markets like this, it is can sometimes also be difficult for an agent to get the “right number” on a property as there are so few properties selling to get good comparables. Price adjustments may be necessary. Real estate is far from an exact science. But let’s say, for example, that a residential home has been on the market for five and a half months. It is listed a little higher than it really should be, but that’s where the seller says he needs to be. The seller authorized one decent sized price reduction after two months of little activity. The listing agent has marketed the property as promised. They’ve had sporadic showings with mostly good feedback on the property, but no offers. The agent has kept the seller informed about the state of the market and what has been done to try and sell the home. The agent suggests another price drop to create some activity and extending the listing for another term. The seller, while acknowledging the bad market, does not seem inclined to reduce his home further. That is, until he lists with another agency.

Anyone who has been a REALTOR® for a while has had this happen to them–probably multiple times. It is a well known axiom in our profession, that most agents would rather be the 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th agent that lists a property because the price will be closer to where it should be. It’s frustrating to agents that lose a listing because they feel they have worked their butt off and will never get compensated for that work. It’s exciting for the new agent as he has a better priced product to sell. I’ve been on both sides of the equation. My suggestion (to any sellers that might be reading this) is to really consider how much your agent has worked to sell your property and that, well, maybe it really is the price that’s the problem and not the marketing or the agent. If you are going to relist with another agency and keep the price the same that’s one thing. But if you are going to drop the price, consider keeping the listing with your current agent if he or she has done a good job for you. That’s good real estate Karma…

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