Lyon Brook offers a comfortable, independent lifestyle that allows owners and residents to simplify their lives in a warm community atmosphere. A caring staff treats residents and owners with dignity and respect, while offering amenities not found in other condominium communities. Meals are optional in the cozy community Dining room, complete with fireplace. There is also a welcoming sunroom, as well as a Library which offers a comfortable retreat to relax and read your favorite book.
Unit 8 is on the first floor and had many renovations around 2019-2020. The small bedroom, living room, foyer, dining area, and kitchen now feature attractive, light wood flooring. The kitchen cabinets were also replaced along with the appliances. A mini-split A/C was installed in the living room, along with remote control window treatments.
The apartment enjoys a lovely walk-out patio area off the living room and benefits from morning light throughout the living space. A nearby door off the hall provides access to the parking area. Basement access is also nearby; here the owner of this unit has a 6’ x 8’ storage “cage”.
If you have never visited Lyon Brook and are considering down-sizing, you will be very impressed and pleased with what it has to offer.
You’ll be moving in the right direction with Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate - The Milestone Team
Wondering About Mortgage Rates & Home Prices?
Will Mortgage Rates Keep Rising?
The Federal Reserve is trying to lower inflation by increasing the federal fund rates and slow the economy. The Fed doesn’t set mortgage rates however their actions impact these rates. While inflation is high, we will see high mortgage rates. NAR Chief Economist, Lawrence Yun, says rates could continue to increase; adding that 7% looks to be the level the rest of this year and most of next year. He predicts within 2 yrs. the rate should return to 5.5%-6%.
Where are Home Prices Heading?
We continue to have more buyers than sellers in the market so it’s still a sellers’ market. The most recent NHAR report for October showed only a 1.7 month supply of homes to sell (a balanced market is 6 months). Some experts are calling for a little price appreciation next year and others project slight depreciation. Yun foresees zero or minor changes next year, with a swing in either direction. The overheated markets where prices shot up rapidly will see more of a shift in prices. In 2024 and beyond, the experts expect to see more normal appreciation (typically 3-4%) in the years ahead. Yun is predicting a 5% price jump in 2024. Pricing all depends on the local market and factors such as the balance between supply & demand. In NH thru Oct., prices are up 13.5% and homes sold 102.6% of the listing price.
If you are considering buying or selling, contact me for the best advice on making your next move.
Contact Donna Forest: 603-526-4116; www.DonnaForest.com; Donna@DonnaForest.com
You’ll be moving in the right direction with Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate - The Milestone Team
Is Now a Good Time to Sell?
Recent news about the housing market may have you wondering if it’s still a good time to sell. While rising interest rates have impacted buyer demand, there are other factors that still make it favorable to sellers. The lack of homes for sale is one of the driving forces. Data from the NH Assoc. of Realtors showed a 1.7 month supply of homes to sell in Sept. Less than a 6 month supply is considered a seller’s market. Houses are still selling quickly - 21 days on market thru Sept. This is well below pre-pandemic levels with 56 days in 2019 and 61 days in 2018, which were good years.
Buyer demand is declining but it hasn’t disappeared. In fact, the showing activity levels are higher than the pre-pandemic years based on the ShowingTime Showing Index. In Sept. 2022, the index for the Northeast was 168. In 2019 it was 120, in 2018 in was 113, and in 2017 it was 123. (The index measures showing traffic and a higher number means more showings in a given month).
Bottom line, there is low inventory and houses are selling faster than pre-pandemic. There are fewer buyers than in the previous two years but they are active and committed to buying. Contact me if you’d like to know what a shift in this market means for your home sale.
Contact Donna Forest: 603-526-4116; www.DonnaForest.com; Donna@DonnaForest.com
You’ll be moving in the right direction with Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate - The Milestone Team
HOLIDAY PRODUCTION
ELF THE MUSICAL JR.
(Ages 8–18)
Based on the classic holiday movie, this show tells the story of Buddy, a young man raised by the North Pole elves, who embarks on a journey to New York City to learn his true identity. When he realizes that his father is on the naughty list, Buddy must spread Christmas spirit to change the mind of his father and the whole community.
Location: Fleming Center.
Performances:
Friday, Dec. 16 @ 7:30pm
Saturday, Dec. 17 @ 11am & 2pm
Sunday, Dec. 18 @ 2pm
SOURCE: nlbarn.org
OCT
28
GEOFF BARTLEY
Geoff Bartley (1948 - ?) is a folk-blues guitar player singer-songwriter and recording artist. His last two CDs, 2009's "Put the Big Stone Down" and 2011's "Mercy for the Dispossessed", went to No. 1 on folk radio. In the 1980s, Geoff won four guitars at the National Fingerpicking Champion-ships. Some of his songs and co-writes have been recorded by other artists in New England, Canada, Ireland, and Nashville, and some are included in the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings of the Fast Folk Musical Magazine collection in Washington, D.C.
Since 1994 Geoff has played guitar and sung harmony for folk treasure Tom Paxton. In 2007, Geoff's song A Letter from Prison about Nelson Mandela was recorded by the progressive bluegrass band, The Infamous Stringdusters, on their CD "Fork in the Road" on Sugar Hill. Subsequently, that recording was used in the independent 2008 Lionsgate film "The Lucky Ones".
Songs and instrumentals he has written have been used on the History Channel, Animal Planet, the Learning Channel, the Discovery Channel, the National Geographic Channel, NOVA and Nature on PBS and other cable networks, in private and commercial films and documentaries, and in private and commercial advertising in the US and other countries.
The folk press has called him a world-class guitarist, a brilliant songwriter and the prophet and spiritual godfather of the Boston folk scene.
SOURCE: Sunapee CoffeeHouse
Slowdown or Bubble?
The headlines today are attention grabbing. Recession, housing bubble, dropping prices. News is designed to get you to watch more news – not educate you. Fear sells. If you look at the data, there is no case to be made for a national bubble or housing crash. Here’s why:
Since 2008, lending standards are much stricter. The exotic programs are gone and there are now better qualified buyers. Foreclosures have been trending down since 2010 – 2.9M in 2010 to 151K in 2021. Today, only 0.4% of homeowners are facing foreclosure and about 91% of these have at least some equity built up. US households own 41 trillion dollars in owner occupied real estate. There is 12 trillion in mortgage debt, leaving 29 trillion in equity. That’s a big number!
Inventory is still historically low. In the US, it is up 27% year-over-year as of Sept. 9th. Compare this to 2019 where it was 43.2%. In NH, new listings as of Aug., are down 22% and there is only a 1.6 month supply of homes to sell. (A balanced market has a 6 month supply).
Price appreciation is slowing but not depreciating. Experts forecast an avg. gain of 11.3% for home prices in 2022 and 2.5% for 2023. YTD thru Aug., the median sales price in NH is up 14.5% compared to Aug. 2021.
Rates are rising in response to inflation. Over the past 5 recessions, mortgage rates have fallen an avg. of 1.8% from the peak to the trough.
Buyer demand has moderated compared to the frenzy of the last 2 years, however showing activity is still beating pre-pandemic levels. Interest rates will fluctuate, and pricing is all about supply & demand. Housing is traditionally one of the first sectors to slow as the economy softens but is also one of the first to rebound. Don’t let fear stop you from buying or selling today. Contact me to work with a professional to help guide you thru this process.
Contact Donna Forest: 603-526-4116; www.DonnaForest.com; Donna@DonnaForest.com
You’ll be moving in the right direction with Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate - The Milestone Team
OCTOBER 14TH
EJ TRETTER
This will be my fourth time performing at the Sunapee Coffeehouse, although it will be my first time since joining the team of volunteers that makes this music venue work so well. In these past few years that I've been helping out , I've been audience to an amazing array of talented singer-songwriters and musicians. I've watched and listened closely, and learned some things.
I've been playing guitar since I was thirteen years old and have been writing songs since I was around twenty two, give or take a year. I write about life lessons, loved ones, and the changes, challenges and rewards that fill up the years. (contrary to persistent rumors, I also have a lighter side ). After forty-plus years of writing and guitar playing, it's still fun. And there are always new things to discover with both music and lyrics.
Thanks to all the Sunapee Coffeehouse folks; volunteers, audience regulars, all friends..........E J Tretter
For more info; http://sunapeecoffeehouse.org
SOURCE: Sunapee CoffeHouse
SEP 30
COSY SHERIDAN
Cosy Sheridan has been called "one of the era's finest and most thoughtful singer/songwriters" She first appeared on the national folk scene in 1992 when she won the songwriting contests at The Kerrville Folk Festival and The Telluride Bluegrass Festival. Since then she has released 10 cds, written a one-woman-show and her music has appeared in books and film. She has taught songwriting, guitar and performance workshops at music camps for the past 15 years, including The Puget Sound Guitar Workshop and The Swannanoa Gathering. She is the director of The Moab Folk Camp in Moab, Utah.
"Her user-friendly musical philosophy sets her happily apart from the myopic, self-involved songwriters... she is a wonderfully lively, very funny and enormously amiable entertainer with a keen and wicked eye for the excesses of our fast-food, tv-happy and noisome culture." - The Boston Globe
"A Buddhist monk in a 12-step program trapped in the body of a singer/songwriter." - The Albuquerque Journal
"Sheridan is frank, feisty, sublimely and devilishly funny. She fuses myth with modern culture, Persephone with Botox." - Cornell Folksong Society
SOURCE: Sunapee CoffeeHouse
Top 5 Loan Killers
If you plan on getting a mortgage or have already started the loan process, you need to be extra cautious with your finances. Here are the top 5 show stoppers you should avoid.
- Purchasing large ticket items. Don’t buy a new car or even furniture until after the loan closes. New payments will impact how much money you can borrow or can even prevent you from qualifying for a loan.
- Paying late on bills. One 30-day late payment can subtract 80 to 110 points from your credit score. Many lenders require at least 12 consecutive months of on-time payments
- Shuffling money around. Lenders scrutinize all your bank statements as part of the approval process. Any unusual deposits or withdrawals will require clear documentation of what they are. A large sum of money transferred into an account right before closing could be lethal.
- Job changes. Taking on a new job can present some hurdles as lenders like stable income that will likely continue. Changing job fields or starting your own business will be a red flag.
- Getting a new credit card. Even something as simple as getting a Kohl’s credit card will impact your credit score.
Give me a call if you want to work with a Realtor who can help you avoid the common pitfalls when buying your dream home.
Contact Donna Forest: 603-526-4116; www.DonnaForest.com; Donna@DonnaForest.com
You’ll be moving in the right direction with Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate - The Milestone Team
What You Need to Know About the Housing Market
It seems like the term “housing recession” is in everything you read and see on the news. Since I was not even sure what this means, I researched what the experts are saying and found the following:
- Home sales are slowing, with a projection of 5.1M (million) by year end. It is quite a drop compared to the heyday of the last 2 years; there were 6.1M sales in 2021 and 5.65M in 2020. However, looking back at the more “normal” years with 5.25M in 2019 and 5.3M in 2018, 5.1M doesn’t seem as dramatic.
- Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Nat’l Assoc. of Realtors states "We're witnessing a housing recession in terms of declining home sales and home building," "It's not a recession in home prices," Yun added. "Inventory remains tight and prices continue to rise nationally with nearly 40% of homes still commanding the full list price."
- In NH, sales are down 15% thru July compared to 2021. The median selling price is up 14.8% at $445K and the state has 1.7 month supply of homes to sell. Anything less than 6-7 month supply is a sellers’ market. In the US, the median price is $403,800, up 10.8% from July 2021 and there is a 3 month supply of inventory.
- Experts predict the following mortgage rates - 5.3% 4th Q this year, 5.2% 1Q 2023, 5.18% 2Q 2023, and 4.97% 3Q 2023. Historically still a “low” rate considering between April 1971 and June 2022, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 7.77% (from Freddie Mac records).
The market has changed from the last two years. Fewer bidding wars, houses staying on the market longer than a weekend, offers being accepted with contingencies. While still a sellers’ market for now, buyers should see more inventory slowly come on the market with a little fluctuation in interest rates. Contact me for more details on how the market impacts you.
Donna Forest ~ donna@donnaforest.com ~ 603-731-5151