Every year the National Association of REALTORS® publishes a profile of Home Buyers and Sellers based on survey results. Below are some facts from the 2012 report that sellers might find eye opening!
- The median size of a home sold was 1900 square feet. Only 9% of buyers purchased a home over 3500 square feet. If your house is significantly larger or smaller than 1900 square feet, there are fewer buyers for your size house.
- 83% of buyers purchased a home with 3 bedrooms. If you are selling a 2 bedroom or 4+ bedroom, you are targeting only 17% of the buyer pool.
- Only 8% of the sales in the Northeast were homes built prior to 1910. Translation – not many buyers for old homes.
- Approximately 59% of buyers had no children, 18% had one child, 16% had two, and 7% had 3+. The majority of buyers are not looking for “large family” homes.
- 90% of buyers in the Northeast used an agent to purchase a home. The top home search sources are the internet, real estate agents, and yard signs.
Feel free to contact me if you are looking for a REALTOR® who understands the housing market and how it impacts you! 603-526-4116; donna@donnaforest.com
Donna Forest, ABR, Broker Associate
One of the most important steps you can take to insure that you will be successful in today’s market is to engage a Real Estate Professional (a REALTOR®). Although this has always been important, the challenges of today’s market make it more so. A REALTOR® working for you as your Listing or Buyer’s Agent, at the very least, owes you the specific fiduciary duties of loyalty, obedience, disclosure, confidentiality, reasonable care, diligence and accounting. You will know that you can trust your agent, and that she will be looking out for your best interests. In addition, working with a professional will also provide a personal guide through the complex maze of either analyzing the market to determine the correct strategy for selling your home or helping you find and, ultimately, purchase a home. In either case, she is working for you, and you can count on her for expert guidance, an ability to network with other professionals crucial to the process (inspectors, home stagers, painters, lenders, etc.), knowledge of the local market and communities in the area, familiarity with all the steps and forms required to sell or purchase a home, and strong negotiating and communication skills. There is no doubt that the internet has revolutionized the home selling or buying process. There are excellent tools and resources available along with mountains of information. It’s a great opportunity for both sellers and buyers to educate themselves in advance of contacting an agent. But, when it comes to taking the important step of listing or buying a home, nothing can replace the “on the ground” experience and professional skills of a REALTOR®. This is not the time to try to “go it alone” out there. Take advantage of all that a professional has to offer. The end result will be a smoother and more satisfying transaction. Give “The Best Team in Town” at Coldwell Banker Milestone Real Estate a call for a free, no-obligation consultation. 603-526-4116
Mount Sunapee is ready for the long weekend. They have been making snow all week building base depths and re-surfacing. Plus, we received 3” of new snow Wednesday. 50 trails will be open on 200 of 233 acres of terrain. All 11 lifts are scheduled to operate including all three quad chairs. All 4 terrain parks are open with more than 50 features for all abilities including the skier/boarder cross course on Eastside and the Bob Skinner’s 603 Terrain Park with 34 features including the new AcroBag. There’s only one other big resort in New Hampshire close to being 86% open and that resort is way up north. Come see why Mount Sunapee is ranked year after year in the Annual SKI Magazine Reader Survey with the best snow surfaces in the East. The big mountain with the best snow is right in your backyard. The Pete Kilpatrick Band with special guest John Popper from Blues Traveler will open the FestEVOL concert at Mount Sunapee Resort on Saturday, March 23. O.A.R. will headline the concert. In 2011 O.A.R. and the Pete Kilpatrick Band played to a sold out FestEVOL crowd. The Pete Kilpatrick Band recently released their 6th studio album, Heavy Fire, in 2012. John Popper and Blues Traveler are celebrating their 25th anniversary and their 11th studio album, Suzie Cracks The Whip. A
Yes, the real estate market may finally be heading in an upward swing! Market predictions are estimating a 3% increase in the nationwide home pricing. The most recent figures (Oct. 2012) from the NH ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® show that the median sales price only dropped 1.2% YTD in 2012 and that the volume of sales is up 20%.
- According to a 12-26-12 article in the Wall St. Journal, home prices are on track to notch their first yearly gain since 2006. They feel the tide has changed and that prices will start rising this year.
- On 11-28-12, Fiserv Case-Shiller reported that the 2012 spring/summer real estate market was the strongest since the peak. They are projecting home prices to grow at an annualized rate of 3.3% from mid-2012 thru 2017.
- On 12-26-12, Pulsenomics announced the results of a survey with a nationwide panel of more than 100 professional forecasters and they expect home prices to rise 3.1% in 2013. They predict that home prices will increase 3.1% - 3.3% thru 2017.
All markets are local so be sure to contact your REALTOR® to understand what is going on in your area. Give me a call if you want to work with your local expert in the Lake Sunapee Region! 603-526-4116.
Donna Forest, ABR, Broker Associate
By: Courtney Craig
Ah, the weekend! It’s a great time to relax, and to not think about the chores you should be doing, such as cleaning out your basement and attic, and — finally — getting organized.
You’re not a slacker — you’ve got energy. What you need are a few creative sparks that’ll make you roll up your sleeves and get going in the right direction.
Recently, I’ve come across some smart ideas for repurposing old stuff — fun and frugal ways that’ll help you declutter and keep your junk from ending up in a landfill. Here are some of my favorites:
Turn CDs into garden scarecrows
Chances are your music collection has gone all-digital in the past few years, leaving hundreds of old CDs sitting sadly in their jewel cases, with nothing to do except take up space.
Put them to good use by scaring birds away from your berry garden. Thread string through the hole in the CD and tie it off to make a large loop. Hang several CDs from a tree near your berry bushes. The shiny, moving objects will frighten birds, keeping them away from your sun-ripened berries.
Make a coat rack out of doorknobs
Do you have a collection of old doorknobs lying around? Put them to work again by turning them into a coat rack. Take four or five doorknobs — use a mismatched array for extra whimsy — and space them evenly apart on a piece of wood trim. Screw the knobs to the wood, then mount the wood to the wall. Voila — you have a new place to hang your coat or purse.
Use old pots for garden tool storage
Basements and garages are graveyards for old pots that became too small for grownup plants, kind of like the shells that hermit crabs vacate for a bigger home. Put these pots to good use by filling them with sand mixed with enough mineral oil to make it slightly damp. Stick your gardening tools in the sand for easy storage. The mixture protects tools from corrosion and rust.
Store tall tools in old golf bag
Perhaps it’s been years since you’ve teed off, or maybe you’ve just upgraded to a better bag, but here’s a new use for an old golf bag: Make it a home for your bigger gardening tools. Shovels, hoes, and rakes slide right into the compartments that once held clubs.
Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/blog/recycling-reusing/give-your-old-cds-new-purpose-plus-3-more-tips-repurpose-old-items/#ixzz2HOzN80f9
Visit Houselogic.com for more articles like this. Reprinted from HouseLogic.com with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.
When the new year arrives, promises and resolutions abound. Here's the top 10 list the resolute home owner should should accomplish this year.
Then you'll love going to Jazz on a Sunday Afternoon at the Center at Eastman in Grantham, NH. The program begins its 21st year on Sunday, December 23, from 4-7pm with Richie Cole, world-class saxophonist. Doors open at 3pm, tickets are $18/adult, $16/seniors or students. Reservations are recommended - call 763-8732 or email bill.wightman@comcast.net. For reservations after 2pm the day of the show, call Bistro Nouveau at 863-8000. For a complete schedule, click on our Community Calendar at www.cbmilestone.com or visit www.josajazz.com.
There's lots of possibilities for this impeccably maintained, circa 1904 Arts and Crafts, shingle-style home. The quality of the craftsmanship and attention to detail are visible throughout. Beautiful millwork, 2 working Rumford fireplaces, maple and oak flooring, extensive built-ins and a butler's pantry are just a few of the home's highlights. 7 bedrooms, 9 baths plus 2 rental units in the carriage house, on 2.04 beautifully landscaped acres. The residence has also been used as a bed and breakfast inn. There is another acre across the street which is negotiable. Was $499,900, now $459,000. Visit www.258Main.com for more photos and details.
Stacey Viandier, Listing Agent, 603-526-4116
If not, look at the ones at Spring Ledge Farm in New London, NH. They are absolutely beautiful and huge! They offer white, red, burgundy, Jingle Bells and pink poinsettias, as well as Winter Rose cut flower poinsettias. Spring Ledge Farm has grown their own poinsettias for 16 seasons now. The poinsettia industry has trended toward mass-production, with large growers in Canada and the mid-Atlantic flooding the markets. As they cut costs over the entire crop, the quality of these mass-market plants suffers. To grow a high-quality poinsettia, with strong branches and healthy, colorful bracts, they space their plants correctly, starting them off with beneficial root microbes and carefully adjusting the growing temperatures as the season progresses. The poinsettias are grown alongside their cyclamen, which is started from seed the previous January and amaryllis and paperwhites which they force in the Fall. With their own supply of plants growing in their large greenhouse, they can easily keep the farmstand stocked with fresh color for your holiday needs. Check out this video which illustrates how they grow their own poinsettias. Click here for the YouTube video, (best viewed with "large viewer option").
The Sunapee Kearsarge Intercommunity Theatre will present "Ye Olde Madrigal Feaste: by order of King Henry VIII" on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, December 6, 7, and 9 at the Lake Sunapee Country Club, New London, NH. You can choose between a hearty beef or vegetarian fare prepared by the Country Club's chef. You'll be entertained by jesters, dancers and a Madrigal Choir singing holiday songs and madrigals. Reservations are required. Tickets for all shows are $40 for adults and $25 for children 12 and under. Thursday and Friday seating opens at 6pm with feasting at 6:30pm. Sunday seating opens at 1:30pm with feasting at 2pm. For reservations contact Don Boxwell 526-2910, or Susan Cancio-Bello 848-8898, or email susancb@comcast.net. Proceeds benefit the Steven Mendelson Scholarship Fund.