There were five waterfront homes sold on Squam Lake in 2010 at an average sales price of $2,029,000. They were on the market an average of 323 days before finding a buyer  which is really not all that long in this market. While having just five transactions on the lake for the whole year is not something to get real excited about, it is far better than just the two transactions that we had last year.  Looking back to the peak year of 2006 there were fifteen sales with an average price of $1,287,933. Hopefully, 2011 will be a better (you could say maybe even a golden) year for Squam waterfront sales.

The largest sale on Squam this year was the property at 238 Route 3 in Holderness. This stunning, vintage lake home was constructed in 1928 for Mrs. George Schraft and had only two subsequent owners. The home has twenty four rooms, eleven bedrooms, and eleven baths so it would be safe to say there is plenty of room for everyone. Features include a beautiful living room with a walk-in stone fireplace and coffered ceilings, paneled walls, a large breakfast room with stone floors that opens out to a patio, leaded glass windows, and numerous fireplaces. Boats are docked in a two bay boat house that has a finished room with half bath above and there is also a five bay garage for the land yachts. This property was listed originally at $9 million and has a tax assessment of just over $4 million . It was only on the market thirty four days before a deal was struck at $6.85 million. The new owner has a truly special and very remarkable piece of Squam Lake.

Another large sale this year was at 23 Shad Bush Road in Holderness. This 2,511 square foot, four bedroom, two bath ranch home sits right on the water’s edge on a private, southerly facing 7.22 acre lot with 422 feet of shorefront. The property has a well appointed kitchen, a large living room with exposed beams and a wall of windows providing great views of the lake, a sunroom, separate guest quarters, a nice patio to sit on and listen to the loons, and a two car garage. This property was originally listed at $3.3 million, was reduced to $2.2 million, and sold for $1.8 million after 783 days on the market. The town has the property assessed for $2,223,400 so it seems that the new owners got a pretty good deal.

The three other sales on Squam were at 159 River St in Ashland for $350,000, 861 Us Rt 3, Holderness for $400,000, and 48 Kesumpe Road for $745,000 proving you don’t have to spend millions to enjoy your summers on Golden Pond. There are a half dozen or so listings currentl available on Squam for under $1 million with others ranging up to $3.2 million. Click here to see all the current Squam Lake Listings!

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Every now and then, just by chance,  you discover something new, special, and  unexpected about the Lakes Region.  This month, I discovered the Chamberlain-Reynolds Memorial Forest. It is really a special place and I bet most area residents have never ventured there. 

I have a home for sale on Dog Cove on Squam Lake and thought I would try to get a picture of  the home from the other side of the cove. Another agent was telling me about the trails near Dog Cove that he hikes and how nice they are. So the other day I decided to take off and go for a little hike to check it out. I picked up some info on Squam from the Squam Lakes Association which included a map of the Chamberlain-Reynolds Memorial Forest . This 157 acre forest is owned by the New England Forestry Foundation and managed by the SLA. It is located on College Road in Center Harbor, between Route-25B and Route 3. There are two parking spots with signs indicating where to enter the trails.

There are over four miles of well marked walking trails in this forest and for the most part the terrain is fairly level so you won’t break a sweat, particularly in December. I followed the East Fire Road down to Dog Cove, where it turned and parallels the shoreline. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a good picture of my house across the cove, but no matter, there were plenty of things to take pictures of.

The trail wound through the trees, around the rocks, and over makeshift board bridges through wet areas and then veered away from the shore just a bit. On this little stretch of trail, I came upon a simple, yet comfortable lake home that is apparently (according to the sign) owned by Pooh, of Bear fame.  The home has natural wood siding and features a wonderful front door that appears to have been custom made. Many well know celebrities have second homes in the Lakes Region where they can relax, take in the beautiful scenery, and have a laid back vacation. I just didn’t think I would ever stumble on the residence of such a megastar.

Continuing down the trail I came to the Swamp Walk which takes you across the wetland area just inland from Heron Cove.  This elevated boardwalk  is really cool and I am sure the area is teaming with wildlife in the summer. It even has a place to sit down and rest about halfway across. 

The other end of the board walk puts you on Wister Point Trail which follows the shore line past three campsites and rest room facilities.  I would bet these campsites are pretty desirable in the summer months. The point offers some absolutely beautiful views of the lake any time of the year. The trail loops around to several fabulous beaches and another campsite with rest room facilities nearby. There you pick up the West Fire Road trail to take you back to College Road. There are numerous other inland trails that I didn’t get a chance to explore, but I am planning on going back soon to talk to Pooh about listing his house. I’ll check them out then…

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On the waterfront…   We are halfway through the year and it seems appropriate to take a look and see how waterfront properties on the four major lakes in the Lakes Region are selling. Waterfront sales are a huge part of our total real estate market.  It is pretty clear to see from the following charts that most waterfront sales occur in the second half of the year, but it is worth a look to see how the first half sales stack up against prior years. All  the numbers in the chart are derived from sales occurring between Jan. 1 and June 30 of each year. These sales also include island properties.
 
Sales on Lake Winnipesaukee are off to a slower start than the past three years. We are down about 35% from last year but show an increase of $286,779 in the average sale price. Twenty of the thirty three sales were over $1 million. Eight of those million dollar plus sales were in Moultonborough. Gilford, Meredith, and Alton each posted three sales, and Laconia, Meredith, and Wolfeboro had one sale each.
 
Winnisquam, Squam, and Newfound lakes don’t have the sales volume of Winnipesaukee. After all, Winnipesaukee is a much larger lake bordering eight communities.  Winnisquam is the more affordable of the four lakes listed and posted four sales with a slightly lower average sales price than last year. Squam Lake had the highest average sales price of the four lakes in 2007 and posted two sales so far this year but dropped $400,000 in the average sales price. Newfound has had only one sale so far at an entry level price of $330,000.  With far fewer sales on these three lakes, lower average sales numbers don’t necessarily point to lower overall waterfront prices. They more likely reflect the lower values of the particular properties that sold. In any event, waterfront sales are a good indicator of how well the Lakes Region economy is doing overall, so let’s hope for a strong second half of the year.

Winnipesaukee Sale Jan - June 2008

Winnisquam Sales Jan - June 2008

Squam Sales Jan - June 2008

Newfound Sales Jan-June 2008