New Hampshire and Maine Homes and Condos

Coastal New Hampshire Real Estate Market Update - January 2008 through August 2008

Real Estate Markets are really very local in nature, contrary to what all the media would have you believe.  Statewide market information isn’t local enough, and really even looking at various markets by county isn’t breaking the real estate market updates down enough.  Counties can, and do, vary greatly, and counties here in New Hampshire vary enormously.

The Seacoast area of NH is covered by parts of two counties - Rockingham County, which has all the towns right along the immediate coastline, and Strafford County, which is inland a bit from the immediate coastline.  The Greater Seacoast areas include a number of towns - Portsmouth, Newcastle, Rye, Hampton, Seabrook, North Hampton, Hampton Falls, Exeter, Stratham, Greenland, Newington, Newmarket, Dover, Durham, Brentwood, and towns in the southern tip of Maine - Kittery, Eliot, York, Ogunguit, South Berwick.  Even these towns vary greatly from each other when it comes to market activity, and how active, or not, the real estate market is.

Read also - “New Hampshire Seacoast Area Towns”

For the purpose of this Coastal Seacoast New Hampshire Real Estate Market Update, the towns included are those in the immediate Seacoast area - Portsmouth, New Castle, Rye, Hampton, North Hampton, Stratham, Hampton Falls, Exeter, Greenland, and Newington.  Real estate market information used for this report is provided from NNEREN, Northern New England Real Estate Network, the Multiple Listing System (MLS) that services all of New Hampshire and parts of Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts.

January through August 2008 Real Estate (MLS) Activity:

Total homes for sale                                                         594 homes
Total new homes listings Jan - Aug                                   904 homes
Total homes sold Jan - Aug                                              373 homes
Total homes sale pending Jan - Aug                                 391 homes
Total homes that didn’t sell Jan - Aug                               718 homes

Average selling price of homes sold Jan - Aug                    $472,753
Average days on the market for sold homes Jan - Aug       147 days
Average list price to sold price ratio                                    94.34%

Average listing price of homes currently for sale                 $638,216
Average days on market of homes currently for sale          160 days
Average listing price of homes currently sale pending         $504,922
Average days on market of homes sale pending                 140 days

Read also - “Seacoast Area Real Estate Market Reports”

So, now that you have all these numbers in front of you regarding the NH Seacoast real estate market, what do they all mean?                      

                         

– If you’re thinking about selling your home in the Portsmouth NH areas, you can expect it to take about 147 days to sell it, assuming it’s priced realistically, and you can expect to receive about 94% of your asking price.  These numbers show that we currently have a little over a 12 month supply of homes for sale.  That means, if no new listings come on the market, it would take us over 12 months to absorb the homes currently offered for sale.  Again, proper pricing is crucial if you want to sell your home in less than the currently absorption rate of 12 months.

Read also - “Absorption Rates and Why They’re Important”
             -  “Selling Real Estate in the NH Seacoast Areas”

– If you’re thinking about buying a home in the Portsmouth NH areas, there hasn’t been a better time to buy than the market we’re currently in.   You have plenty of choices to pick from, and many sellers are pricing their homes aggressively as well as making sure they’re in great market condition.  If you’ve been in the real estate market in this area, and have missed out on a home or two, you are already aware that homes in some areas are selling very quickly, many times with multiple offers on them from buyers just waiting for that perfect home to come up for sale.  If you fit into that group, be prepared to make a move quickly so you don’t keep missing out.

Read also - “Buying Real Estate in the NH Seacoast Areas”

If you’re interested buying or selling New Hampshire real estate in the Portsmouth NH Seacoast areas, call me today at 1-888-349-5678 x 3839, or send me an email, and let’s talk real estate!

 
            
   


                                  
  Ann Cummings, New Hampshire REALTOR
  RE/MAX Coast to Coast
  Portsmouth NH
  ann@anncummings.com
  888-349-5678 x 3839
  Servicing the Coastal Areas of NH & Southern Maine