LOTS OF FUN ACTIVITIES COMING UP!!!
Wednesday, August 10
FOLDING WITH ORIGAMI At the Library Arts Center, 58 N. Main St., Newport, 9:30-11:30 a.m. Summer art class for participants 7-12 years old. Cost: $10 includes all materials. Scholarships available. Preregistration required. Info: 603- 863-3040, info@libraryartscenter.org or https://libraryartscenter.org/classes-and-workshops/classes.
MESSY ART WORKSHOP At The Livery, 58 Main St., Sunapee, 10-11 a.m. For children. Experimental printmaking – Have fun and get messy with art at The Livery’s Riverside Workshops. Limited to 8 children and their caregivers. Cost: $10 per child. Register at thelivery.org.
Thursday, August 11
FREE CONCERT At Newbury Harbor, Route 103, 6:30-8 p.m. The Terrapin Tuesday Band, Grateful Dead tribute band. Sponsored by the Newbury Recreation Department.
Friday, August 12
FREE CONCERT At the Mary D. Haddad Bandstand, Sargent Common, New London, 6:30-8 p.m. East Bay Jazz Ensemble; big band era music with a twist. In case of inclement weather, held at the First Baptist Church. Presented by the Town of New London Bandstand Committee and made possible in part by funds provided by the late Steven M. Mendelson.
FREE SUMMER CONCERT In the Jim Mitchell Community Park, 16 East Main St., Warner, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Peabody’s Coal Train. Donations appreciated for the performers. Sponsored by MainStreet Warner, Inc., a community 501(c)3 nonprofit. Info: 603-456-3745, leave message.
SUMMER MUSIC SERIES At The Livery, 58 Main St., Sunapee, 7 p.m. The Mink Hills Band is a New Hampshire based acoustic band whose selection of music includes bluegrass, swing, folk and original compositions. Tickets available at thelivery.org/music or at the door.
Saturday, August 13
FREE KIDS’ ACTIVITIES At the Sunapee Farmers Market, 68 Main St., Sunapee, 9-11 a.m. Obstacle course. All materials provided. Also free face painting for kids.
FREE WARNER PALOOZA EVENT At the Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum powwow field, 18 Highlawn Road, Warner, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain date Sunday, Aug. 14. Over 30 Warner businesses, nonprofits, artists and crafters will showcase what they have to offer. Food and beverages will be available, and live music will be provided by Warner musicians. Info: www.indianmuseum.org.
CARS & COFFEE At the Ice House Museum, 91 Pleasant St., New London, 9 a.m. to noon. Bring favorite vehicle, old or new and enjoy car camaraderie. Open to the public. Suggest donation $10. Info: www.wfkicehouse.org.
FREE CIRCUS MINIMUS At the Wilmot Public Library, 11 N. Wilmot Road, Wilmot, noon. Entertainer, comic, and circus-in-a-suitcase performer Kevin O’Keefe teaches circus performance to children. This one-man circus in-a-suitcase gives everyone an opportunity to participate in an enthralling, whimsical celebration of the imagination. Each performance becomes a dialogue between the characters and the audience – a light-hearted collaboration. Info: 603-526-6804 or wilmotlibrary@comcast.net.
ICE CREAM MAKING At the Springfield Historical Society, 4 Corners Road, Springfield, 1-3 p.m. Make and eat ice cream. Info: www.historicalspringfieldnh.org.
SECOND ANNUAL PICNIC/ SILENT AUCTION At Wadleigh State Park, Sutton, 1 p.m. Catch up with friends, old and new. The food promises to be more spectacular than last year, with main dishes supplied by the KLPA. Bring your favorite sides and desserts to share. Also fabulous items for the auction donated by generous merchants and individuals. More items needed to make the auction a big success and raise money to protect Kezar.
FREE CONCERT At Flanders Stage, Sunapee Harbor, 5-7 p.m. East Bay Jazz Combo. Info: www.sunapeeharborriverway.com.
FREE CONCERT On the town green, 9 Kearsarge Valley Road, Wilmot Flat, 6-7:30 p.m. In case of rain, held at the Wilmot Community Association, 64 Village Road. Frogz, classic rock & folk. Free popcorn donated by Coldwell Banker Lifestyles of New London. Info: 603-526-4802 or www.wilmotnh.org/community/bandstand
Monday, August 15
ANNUAL HISTORY CRUISE On Lake Sunapee, 5:30 p.m. Departs from town dock to explore lakeshore development from Gardner Bay to Georges Mills. Presented by Sunapee Historical Society. Cost: $40 per person. Reservations required. Info: 603-763-9872, info@sunapeehistory@gmail.com or www.sunapeehistoricalsociety.org.
Tuesday, August 16
MUSIC WITH FRIENDS At The Livery, 58 Main St., Sunapee, 10-11 a.m. For infants-preschoolers. Experience making music with your children and their caregivers together. Everyone sings, dances, drums and claps for fun experimenting with voices, instruments and movement. Cost: $12 per class; sign up for the full series or just the weeks that work for your family. Register online:love.j@comcast.net
SOURCE: INTERTOWN RECORD
5 Tips to Avoid Last Minute Stress
Selling and in the throes of packing and moving? Below are some tips to help get through those final days to avoid creating work for yourself at the last minute.
- Don’t leave personal items unless buyers agreed to it. While you may think you are doing them a favor by leaving the bar stools, the buyers could view it differently. You don’t want to be coming back to remove things right before the closing. Always check first.
- Leftover paint, tile, & cleaning supplies. All useful for the new owners, right? Confirm that buyers want it left. It’s not easy to get rid of this stuff at the last minute.
- You may be closing in a week, but you still need to maintain the yard. Having buyers pull up to a house with foot high grass to do their walk-thru inspection could be contentious.
- Be sure to understand what stays with the house. Check with your agent before removing anything attached. For example, hooks, shelves, blinds, light fixtures, & TV brackets should be left unless specified otherwise.
- Don’t leave multiple holes in the walls where pictures hung. Take a few minutes to spackle and paint.
Thinking of selling? Contact me and put my 28 years of real estate knowledge to work for you!
Donna Forest ~ donna@donnaforest.com ~ 603-731-5151
Real estate markets are local, and we have the real scoop on ours.
Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate - The Milestone Team
A Recession Doesn’t Equal a Housing Crisis
Are you wondering how a recession affects the US housing market? Here are a few key points to help put some perspective on its impact.
- Interest rates go up at the beginning of a recession but are then lowered to stimulate the economy to move forward. Over the past 5 recessions, rates have fallen an avg. of 1.8% from the peak to the trough. Bear in mind interest rates will most likely rise until inflation peaks.
- Four out of the six times we were in a recession, home prices appreciated. They fell only twice – once marginally in the early 90’s and in 2008.
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- The number of offers received on a home has dropped from an avg. of 5.5 offers in April to 4.2 in June. Still well above the pre-pandemic norm but this shows a moderating of the market.
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- A month ago, 61% of offers were over asking and this has now softened to 55% over asking price on the avg. home sold. Not a huge decline but still a sign of the times.
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- There is a slowdown in the pace of sales. It is looking more like it did in 2018 and 2019, which by the way, were great years for real estate.
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- Active inventory is growing but there are still way more buyers than we have sellers. This will continue to put upward pressure on prices.
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Whether buying or selling, contact me to make an informed decision on planning your next move.
Donna Forest ~ donna@donnaforest.com ~ 603-731-5151
Real estate markets are local, and we have the real scoop on ours.
Is Now a Good Time to Buy?
Despite headlines about high interest rates, a recession, and some even saying there is a housing bubble, the reality is that it’s still a good time to buy a home. And below are the reasons why!
- The number of homes for sale are increasing. Danielle Hale, Chief Economist for realtor.com, said new listings were up 6% above one year ago.
- Buyer demand has moderated with the higher interest rates, which means buyers should face lower competition at a less frenzied pace.
- Experts are forecasting homes to continue to appreciate in price. None are saying prices will fall. The home price forecast for 2022 averages out to an increase of 8.5%. After 2022, the home prices are expected to increase 3-4% each year.
- Rents are rising faster than they have in years due to the high demand. Buyers with a mortgage can at least know the majority of their monthly housing costs will remain fixed going forward.
- Interest rates over the last few years were artificially low as the Feds tried to boost economic activity. The latest rates are still comparatively low when looking at them historically since 1971. An average 30-year, fixed mortgage rate of around 6% is still well below the historical average of nearly 8 percent.
There is no perfect advice as to when to buy a house. However, don’t base your actions on what you read in the headlines as waiting could cost you. It’s a personal decision based on your finances and goals. Contact me for expert guidance on buying your dream home.
Donna Forest ~ donna@donnaforest.com ~ 603-731-5151
Real estate markets are local, and we have the real scoop on ours.
What to Know About the Market
With mortgage rates inching up and prices still climbing, there is a shift from the “anything goes” housing market we saw the last two years. Here are some takeaways from what I’ve recently been reading.
The market is not about to crash. It appears to be a turning point towards more typical pre-pandemic levels. Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American says “. . . today’s housing market looks a lot like the 2019 housing market, which was the strongest housing market in a decade at the time.”
- Demand for housing exceeds the current supply. The US has underbuilt single family housing by 4.3 million units since 2000. Households are forming faster than builders can create new housing. This deficit is predicted to continue over the next 10 plus years. This will continue to drive prices up.
- The rate of appreciation is expected to slow – but not drop. The expectation is in a year from now, prices will be higher than they are currently.
- Lenders are vetting buyers more stringently, unlike the last housing bubble. Over 70% of mortgage dollars are to buyers with 760+ credit scores, compared to pre-2008, when that number was under 25%.
- If you don’t plan to be in your home for more than 5 yrs. or so, buyers should consider a 5-yr. adjustable rate mortgage, which has a lower interest rate than a 30-yr. fixed.
The market is shifting. Whether buying or selling, contact me to help you navigate these changes.
Donna Forest ~ donna@donnaforest.com ~ 603-731-5151
Are Multiple Offers Still the Norm?
Despite rising mortgage rates, multiple offers are still prevalent according to the March Realtors Confidence Index Survey. In this survey, Realtors reported an average of nearly 5 offers on each home that sold in March. Home buying demand is still outpacing supply. The shortage of homes for sale will continue to make this a competitive market for buyers. Gay Cororaton, research economist at the Nat’l Assoc. of Realtors, writes “…properties typically stayed on the market for a shorter time compared to one year ago, at 17 days on the market. Eighty-seven percent of listings were on the market for less than one month.” In NH thru March 2022, homes typically stayed on the market for 34 days.
How tight is the inventory? At the end of March there were 950,000 homes on the market, equivalent to a 2 months supply. A normal market is about 6 months - meaning the inventory of homes on the market should be at 2.9 million. Doing simple math, there is a shortage of about 2 million homes for sale in the US. Due to this tight supply, the Nat’l Assoc. of Realtors expects prices to continue to appreciate by about 5% by year-end. If you are looking to buy or sell, contact me to help you navigate the complexities of this market!
Donna Forest ~ donna@donnaforest.com ~ 603-731-5151
What is Your Home Worth?
In this unique sellers’ market, it seems like you can put any crazy number on a house and it will sell. In reality, determining market value is still crucial if you are serious about selling. Overpriced properties take longer to sell and sell for less than if priced correctly from the start. Below are the common approaches for determining value.
- Automated Valuation – Companies like Zillow calculate value using software based on mathematical modeling. While convenient, it is not accurate. It misses important price influences such as property condition and location (e.g., it can’t see your brand new kitchen or if on a busy street).
- Appraisal – An in-depth analysis by a licensed appraiser and is typically used in the loan process. Right now bidding wars are driving sales prices up higher than other recent sales. Since appraisals rely heavily on past comparable sales, this lagging data can make it difficult to capture the current market.
- Market Analysis - Prepared by a realtor to provide a probable listing price. Using similar active and recently sold properties and factoring in the many characteristics that impact value.
Of note, assessed value is for tax purposes and may not reflect fair market value. Also, there is no correlation between the cost of building vs. how much your house is worth. Want to know your home’s value? Contact me - 28 yrs. in the business and still keeping current. Put my knowledge to work for you!
Donna Forest ~ donna@donnaforest.com ~ 603-731-5151
April 7th "Diversity is Beauty" 6:00
Poetry read by the poets while viewing the artifacts which inspired the poems!
Visual Verse IV "Diversity is Beauty" at the Mt Kearsarge Indian Museum-Warner
This exquisite book is a collection of beautiful photos submitted by the
Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum, depicting many dimensions of Native American life and culture and the poems inspired by the images.
Source-
Are Home Prices Still Going Up?
Given the war in Ukraine, rising mortgage rates, COVID, inflation at 7.9%, etc., you might be wondering if home prices will still be increasing or if we are in a housing bubble that might burst at any moment. We are definitely NOT in a housing bubble. It is simply the law of supply and demand at work where there are more buyers than houses for sale. The lack of inventory means buyers will be forced to bid up prices if they hope to land a home. In NH, new listings are down 17% thru Feb., the volume of sales is down 17.7% and the median sales price at $400,000 is up 14% compared to the first two months in 2021. Back in Dec., economists were predicting home prices to rise at a more moderate rate between 5% and 6%. Zillow is now predicting prices to be up 17.3% at year end. While it’s difficult to really say how much increase there will ultimately be, the forecast is definitely upwards as spring is shaping up to be one of the hottest markets yet. Home ownership builds wealth – a homeowner’s net worth is 40x greater than that of a renter. It also is one of the best investments against inflation. Whether a first-time buyer or looking to sell to buy a home that better suits your needs, waiting will cost you. Contact me to find out what steps you should be taking now.
Donna Forest 603.731.5151~donna@donnaforest.com