New Hampshire residential home sales and prices showed increases again in November, according to data released recently by the New Hampshire Association of Realtors (NHAR). The 1,137 closed sales in the month marked a 10.5 percent increase from November 2014, while the median price of those sales was $233,975, a 3 percent hike from the median price of November 2014. It was the ninth consecutive month in which both the number of residential sales and median price were ahead of the same month prior year. And sales volume, meaning the total dollars exchanged in those residential transactions, was 16 percent ahead of last November. “We’ve had a very consistent message for the last couple of years, and that’s been a steadily improving housing market, reflective of a steadily improving economy,” said NHAR President Maxine Goodhue, an 18-year veteran of the real estate industry and a broker associate with Four Seasons Sotheby’s International Realty. “That’s no different this month.” Year to date, the numbers are similarly on the rise. Through the end of November, 14,493 residential homes have been sold (an 11.3 percent increase from last year) in 2015, at a median price of $240,000 (5.3 percent increase), and a sales volume increase of 16 percent. And although the total supply of the state’s available residential housing inventory was down by 11 percent at the end of November, compared to 2014, the new listings for the month increased by 9 percent, meaning prospective sellers seem to be optimistic about their market conditions. Another indicator of inventory levels – months’ supply – dropped to 7.7 months, the lowest November number in more than 10 years. Months’ supply represents the number of months it would take to sell off the current inventory at the average pace of sales for the previous year. And while the trend indicates momentum toward leverage on the sellers’ side, 7.7 months is considered a balanced market. More than nine months’ supply is traditionally thought of as a buyers’ market, and anything less than that a sellers’ market. “This is a healthy market for both buyers and sellers,” Goodhue said. The condominium market is also experiencing increases in 2015, with closed sales up by better than 8 percent in September and nearly 15 percent year to date. The median price on those sales was up by 6 percent in November and 2.4 percent year to date. Locally, nine of 10 New Hampshire counties saw residential unit sales increases in November 2015 compared to 2014, and all 10 counties are ahead of 2014 year to date. Seven of 10 saw an increased median sales price in November, while year to date all but Merrimack County (down 1.4 percent) have seen a median price increase. See Market Report November 2015 market dataSource: Press Release, 12/17/15, Dave Cummings, NHAR Director of Communications
As we near the end of 2015, I thought it would be helpful to know how our local market has fared. Looking at the past 11 months, we continue to move in a positive direction. In the 10 area towns, the total number of sales are up 14% from last year. Prices are about the same with the average price of all home sales only being down by 1%. These figures vary from town to town, but the combined data shows forward momentum. For example, in home sales under $1 million - Newbury sales are up 41% from 2014 with the average selling price about equal. Sunapee sales are 3 ahead of last year with the average sales price down 13%. New London’s volume is down 34% but prices are up almost 7%. Nationally, home sales are up 3.9% through October compared to the same time period in 2014. Lawrence Yun, National Association of REALTORS® Chief Economist stated, “As long as solid job creation continues, a gradual easing of credit standards even with moderately higher mortgage rates should support steady demand and sales continuing to rise above a year ago." What does all this mean? Properly priced and prepared homes will continue to sell and waiting to buy will only cost you more money. Contact me if you would like to know the specific sales data for your town! 603-526-4116, www.DonnaForest.com, Donna@donnaforest.com Figures are based on information from the Northern New England Real Estate Network, Inc. for the period 1/1/15 through 11/30/15 and 1/1/14 through 11/30/14.
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Statistics released near the end of September by the National Association of REALTORS® show that US home sales are up 6.2% and the median sales price is up 4.7% to $228,700 from a year ago (for the period 1/1/15 to 8/31/15). We are seeing a similar trend in NH as the New Hampshire Association of REALTORS® reports closed sales through August up 10% and the median sales price up 5.3% to $241,115 from 2014. Of course not every market area is identical, so I looked at the combined data for our 12 area towns through September and found home sales up 6% (331 homes sold vs. 312 in 2014) and the average sales price almost the same as last year’s at $352,158. Most of the towns saw an uptick in sales compared to 2014 with a handful behind (New London and Springfield for example). Currently there are over 500 homes for sale with the average days on market running about 178 days. Whew, lots of numbers, right? Bottom line, the housing market remains steady with the expectation for home sales and pricing to rise. Continued gains in employment, wage growth, and low mortgage rates will likely support a price appreciation of 4.3% in 2016 according to CoreLogic’s October release. Whether buying or selling, contact me to find out how the market impacts you! 603-526-4116, www.donnaforest.com, donna@donnaforest.com Figures are based on information from the Northern New England Real Estate Network, Inc. for the period 1/1/14 thru 9/30/14 and 1/1/15 thru 9/30/15.
Good news – homes sales January through June in the 10 area towns combined are up 9.2% from last year for the same time period (170 homes sold in 2015 vs. 156 homes in 2014). The average selling price inched up about 1% and the average days on market increased from 143 days in 2014 to 169 days in 2015. Not all towns are seeing sale increases at this point, however overall, the market is moving in the right direction. For example, Newbury has 20 home sales this year as compared to 11 in 2014, Sunapee has 20 home sales as compared to 18 last year, while New London has seen a decrease with 25 home sales this year compared to 42 in 2014. The most recent report from New Hampshire REALTORS® show statewide sales are up 4.5% January-May and the median price up 6.2%. At that time, all but Merrimack County saw median price increases. So what does this mean? Essentially, our area is still in a buyers' market with more homes to sell than there are buyers. Homes properly priced and prepared for the market will have a better chance of selling this year compared to previous years. With low interest rates and prices holding steady at this point, buyers still have great buying opportunities. It is a unique market with pluses for both buyers and sellers. Contact me if you want to take advantage of being a buyer or seller! 603-526-4116, donna@donnaforest.com, www.donnaforest.comFigures are based on information from the Northern New England Real Estate Network, Inc. for the period 1/1/14 through 6/30/14 and 1/1/15 through 6/30/15.
Despite our tough winter, home sales are up 28% in the 10 local towns in the first 5 months as compared to the same time in 2014. The average days on market is 169 days and statewide, the median price is up 7% from last year. While our data shows a 5% increase, I believe some of that can be attributed to the higher number of lake sales with 2 sales at $2M+. Nonetheless, it’s encouraging to finally see upward movement in our market. Newbury – 64 Currently for Sale 1/1 -6/1/14 6 Solds 140 Days on Market (DOM) 1/1-6/1/15 17 Solds 230 DOM New London – 81 Currently for Sale 1/1 -6/1/14 26 Solds 169 DOM 1/1-6/1/15 20 Solds 109 DOM Sunapee – 68 Currently for Sale 1/1 -6/1/14 13 Solds 182 DOM 1/1-6/1/15 13 Solds 88 DOM A recent Pulsenomics survey of housing experts predicts US home values to level off in the next few years with a 4.3% rise in 2015 and an average annual growth rate through 2019 of 3.6%. In other words, buyers, it’s time to get off the fence if you are thinking about buying as home prices and interest rates are predicted to only go up. If you are looking to buy or sell, contact me to work with a local expert! 603-526-4116, donna@donnaforest.com, www.donnaforest.comFigures are based on information from the Northern New England Real Estate Network, Inc. for the period 1/1/14 thru 6/1/14 and 1/1/15 thru 6/1/15.
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A robust month of sales in March capped a strong first quarter in the New Hampshire residential housing market. Unit sales saw a 6 percent increase for the month this year, compared to March 2014, while median price was ahead by nearly 8 percent. The $226,000 median price for residential sales was the highest in any March since 2008. The March gains completed a first quarter that had unit sales ahead of the 2014 pace by just over 2 percent, and the first quarter median price, at $225,000, was a better than 6 percent gain over last year. “It’s definitely heating up again,” said New Hampshire REALTORS President Maxine Goodhue, a broker with Bean Group in Bedford and an 18-year veteran of the real estate industry. “More and more, we’re hearing the stories of multiple offers, five or six showings the day after a property is listed – all those anecdotal indicators of an increasingly busy real estate market.” The one area of concern in recent months had been a lack of residential housing inventory, and March saw another decrease – by nearly 12 percent – in the number of homes for sale. The months’ supply of residential inventory – meaning the number of months it would take to sell off the current inventory at the average pace of sales for the previous year – in March reached 7.5 months’ supply, nearly a 13 percent drop from March 2014. Condominiums are even more scarce, at 6.4 months’ supply in March, a 16 percent decline from a year ago. But Goodhue said she doesn’t expect that trend to continue. “Even after a normal winter, this is typically the time of year when the inventory starts to replenish,” Goodhue said. “I’d expect that to be even more so this spring, considering the winter we just had and also what’s happening with prices. I think prospective sellers probably see opportunity in the market right now.” Locally, seven of 10 New Hampshire counties saw residential unit sales increases in the first quarter of 2015 compared to 2014, while eight of 10 saw an increased median sales price. Source: Press Release, Dave Cummings NHAR Director of Communications
The housing market seems to reflect what hardy stock we New Englanders are! Despite all the snow and freezing weather, home sales are up from last year. In the 9 area towns from 1/1/ to 3/30/15, 53 homes sold with a median selling price of $223,000 as compared to the same time period in 2014 where 39 homes sold with a median selling price of $208,500. This follows a national trend as pending home sales showed solid gains driven by an improving labor market, mortgage rates hovering around 4%, and more renters entering the market due to increasing rents, according to Lawrence Yun, National Association of REALTORS® chief economist. Statewide, prices have also increased; mainly due to the lack of inventory. February reached a more than 10-year low, at 7 months supply. Our area also has limited supply at the moment. For example, Sunapee currently has 46 homes for sale. Given that 56 homes sold in 2014, right now there are not enough homes to fulfill buyer demand. I think we can now be optimistic about our spring market with the expectation of slightly higher increases in prices and sales! Contact me if you want to find out how the market has impacted your home value. 603-526-4116, donna@donnaforest.com, www.donnaforest.com. Figures are based on information from the Northern New England Real Estate Network, Inc. for the period 1/1/15 thru 3/30/15 and 1/1/14 thru 3/30/14.
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2013 proved to be a good year for the State of NH. The number of homes sold was up 4.3% in 2013 compared to 2012 and median sales price increased 9.5% to $208,000. The days on market dropped from 116 to 102 days. These statistics are all great indicators that the downward spiral has stopped and the housing market is moving in the right direction. The expectation is for this trend to continue into 2014. The statistics for Merrimack and Sullivan County follow a similar pattern with homes sales up 19.7% in Merrimack and up 13.9% in Sullivan. The median sales price increased 13.4% in Merrimack and decreased 9.4% in Sullivan. To break it down even more, Newbury & New London sales increased by about 10% in 2013, while Sunapee was down by 5%. The average selling price was 92% of the asking price and there was a decrease in the average days it took to sell a home to 5.5 months. An article in the December 22nd Wall St. Journal described the housing outlook as “Steadier, Sturdier.” It appears that our housing market has settled into a healthy pattern of growth – I’m giving it two thumbs up! Contact me if you want to know how sales are impacting the price of your home. 603-526-4116; donna@donnaforest.com; www.donnaforest.com (Based on information from NNEREN for the period 1/1/12 thru 12/31/13)
Residential home sales in New Hampshire saw a year-over-year increase for the 20th consecutive month in July, outpacing July 2012 by 23 percent, while the price of those homes was up by 11 percent for the month as well. There were 1,637 residential sales in July, compared with 1,331 from a year ago, marking the most sales in a single month since August 2005. With a median price of $230,000 (compared with $207,900 in July 2012), it added up to a 37 percent increase in overall July sales volume, meaning the total dollars exchanged in those transactions. “I read somewhere that it won’t be long before the ‘housing recovery’ is simply referred to as ‘housing,’” said 2013 New Hampshire Association of REALTORS® President, Bill Weidacher. “We no longer have to qualify the recovery as a hypothetical or as something that we’re forecasting or dreaming about. It’s here.” Year to date numbers in 2013 continue to be on the upswing as well. For the first seven months combined, compared to 2012, closed sales are up 12 percent, median price is ahead by 10 percent, and sales volume saw a 17 percent increase. The average days on the market for sold homes, meanwhile, dropped by 18 percent in July, from 107 days in 2012 to 88 days this year. The year to date comparison is a 13 percent decline, from an average of 118 days on the market over the first seven months of 2012 to 103 in 2013. Pending sales, a forward-looking sales indicator, increased by 23 percent in July and has risen 12 percent year to date. And months’ supply, which measures the number of months it would take to sell of the current inventory of homes at the current pace of sales, dropped from nearly 15 months in July 2012 to 11 in July 2013. “We’ve been in a buyers’ market for so long, some of those relatively new to the business are seeing things lean back toward the sellers for the first time,” Weidacher said. “There’s certainly more balance in the market than we’ve seen in years.” Condominium sales in New Hampshire, meanwhile, trended similarly in July, ahead by 25 percent in closed sales, 14 percent in median price, and 35 percent in sales volume. Year to date, those numbers are 15 percent, 7 percent and 22 percent, respectively. Locally, nine of the 10 New Hampshire counties saw residential unit sales increases in July, with Sullivan County the only exception, and nine of 10 witnessed July median price increases as well, with only Coos seeing a decline. July 2013 data NHARSource: Press Release, Dave Cummings, NHAR Director of Communications, Concord, NH