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