Recently my wife had the opportunity to be on NHPR (New Hampshire Public Radio) talking about the real estate market and her feelings as to where the market is headed. They called upon her mainly because she is the New Hampshire Association of REALTOR®s 2009 President-Elect. The program was all about the state of our economy and the real estate market/crisis in particular. The show she was on is called The Exchange and Laura Knoy was the host.
While she wasn’t on for a long time she was, I hope, able to communicate some crucial information. You can listen to the show here.
There is no doubt that January saw a major market stall as many people put home buying on hold in anticipation of what President Obama would do once he took office. Early February saw some mass confusion due to the up and down real estate stimulus package potential of a $15,000 tax credit. Some buyers moved forward in anticipation by making offers contingent upon the 15,000 tax credit becoming a reality.
Of course we all know that did not happen.
The reality is that people buy homes not sticks and bricks, they buy lifestyles, they buy a dream and while everyone wants their home to appreciate in value, it’s important to remember that long term real estate is an excellent investment.
Are we at the bottom? I really don’t know but I do know that investors have stopped looking and have started buying! Which tells a very important story. If you’re a buyer “On the Fence” don’t let this opportunity slip by you. It would be pretty sad to look in the rear view mirror someday soon and kick yourself for missing this opportunity.
The last week of February in our Londonderry office alone, we had 24 homes go pending in one week alone.
That’s a lot of homes and to me that speaks volumes.
The chart below shows a 10 year history of the Rockingham County real estate market.
| Year | Units sold | % change | Median price | % change 2 | DOM | % change |
| 1998 | 4,112 | N/A | $153,200 | N/A | 123 | N/A |
| 1999 | 4,228 | 2.8 | $169,900 | 10.9 | 83 | -33 |
| 2000 | 3,896 | -7.9 | $200,000 | 17.7 | 77 | -7 |
| 2001 | 3,662 | -6 | $237,850 | 18.9 | 69 | -10 |
| 2002 | 3,797 | 3.7 | $264,900 | 11.4 | 72 | 4 |
| 2003 | 3,551 | -6.5 | $285,400 | 7.7 | 75 | 4 |
| 2004 | 3,889 | 9.5 | $314,373 | 10.2 | 75 | 0 |
| 2005 | 3,458 | -11.1 | $337,500 | 7.4 | 81 | 8 |
| 2006 | 2,628 | -24 | $330,000 | -2.2 | 112 | 38 |
| 2007 | 2,576 | -2 | $316,000 | -4.2 | 132 | 18 |
| 2008 | 2,286 | -11.3 | $285,000 | -9.8 | 135 | 2 |
I don’t think things will go down too much farther in a lot of areas, though I’m sure they won’t rise too fast either. It’s interesting to see how in 1998 twice as many houses sold at less than half the price than they did in 2008.
I did hear that a new wave of foreclosures will be coming on the market. I hope we are at the bottom. Time will tell thanks for commenting.