Eastman Real Estate Blog

There are some very positive numbers here if your a seller. The real estate market has improved dramatically since last year. Here are a few numbers for you to look at.

From January 1st, 2009 through May 31st 2009 there were nine homes and one condo sold. For the same time period this year twenty six homes have sold and 3 condos sold.

That’s nearly a 300% increase in sales! If we can keep this pace up, there will be 62 home sales this year. That’s not a bad year at all.

Condo sales are better than last year but still seem to be lagging the home market. If we figure our average sales for most years, totals of over 20 units a year, this year we are on pace to sell a total of 7. That’s not good, but condo selling season is just getting under way. I am confident that by years end, sales in condos will be respectable.

Kayaking Eastman Lake 5/31/10

There has been plenty of recent chatter Eastman condos and what’s for sale.

Currently there are thirty four units actively for sale. Of those there are only a few with good water views. If you don’t want to pay the water view premium then the selection is very good, and pricing is in your favor.

Prices start as low as $154,900!!! Your would have never seen a price this low four or five years ago. Even two or three years there would have never been 13 condos priced under $200,000

Condos that stand out form the crowd due to their water view are 15 Pleasant and 30 Bay Tree. If your looking for move in condition where you shouldn’t have to do a thing? Then you want to see 802 Covered Bridge Ln and 52 Black Duck Spur. Both these condos have a water view and both are very clean and ready to go. 802 has a third level with sliders that let you out steps from the lake.

If you are interested in looking at any of the condos mentioned or any of the others that are currently available then please call or email me, jeffadie@gmail.com and I would be glad to set up a tour.

In home business potential, 7 garage bays

This property has endless potential. The last use was an antique shop in one space with two small retail shops occupying two other buildings. There’s over 2,800 square feet of space, plus a separate office space, a detached 4 car garage, an attached 3 car garage, and a storage shed. The living quarters are immaculate and a private deck with mountain views. Living space can easily be doubled by joining the first and second floors of the main building.

A tenant is renting the living space, the potential to rent out each of the 4 bays in the 4 car garage to generate more income. The location is 10 minutes or less from RT 89 exit 10 or 11. Ten minutes from New London town center, less then 10 minutes from the Country Club of Hew Hampshire, Kearsarge Middle School and Kearsarge High School.

Come take a look, you will be amazed at the space and potential use.

Let me start by saying that for me, this year has started off as my best year ever. One other agent in my office is off to her best year ever. There is no doubt that home sales in this area were moving right along. That is until the end of March when things seemingly quieted down. Now we are into mid May and more and more people I talk to are saying the same thing. Agents and mortgage brokers from Hanover to Warner are all saying “it’s quiet”.

Here’s some information that is not in the main stream media just yet. HEADLINE: Housing Starts Rise 5.8% Yes this was a national headline and for April that was great news. Even single family home starts rose 10.2%. As you read further multifamily starts declined 18.6% but the biggest number that was buried was the fact that new home building permits, which gauge future activity declined 11.5% to an annual rate not seen since October 09′.

The next big miss by major media was that mortgage applications dropped 27.1% compared to the previous week and was 24.1% lower than the same week last year. It was actually the lowest level of applications since May 1997!

Even while mortgage rates have dropped a half point or more in recent weeks, mortgage applications drop to the lowest level in thirteen years?

Where is this market going? Non of the so called experts seem to know. One head line read “Housing Prices Could Rise 12.4% By 2014″. This is based on an average of 100 analysts and market strategists. Some of these so called strategists worked for banks and one prediction from a banker was home prices will rise 37% by the end of 2014. Is this guy serious? It would be great if he was right but I’m not going out on that limb. Other analysts had more bearish thoughts, predictions of still more declines of 18%.

I’m not sure where were going on a national level but what is happening here in Eastman? As long as there is a large inventory , sellers have little pricing power. With 86 homes and 34 condos currently on the market, the property’s that will sell are the ones that have the greatest value (nicest home for least cost).

It appears to me that locally, it’s still a buyers market and price appreciation is not going to happen in 2010.

Has the housing market turned in Eastman? Are there buyers out there? Are they looking or actually buying?

These are two of the most popular questions I am asked on a daily basis. Here are some numbers that prove Eastman home sales have turned the corner.

From January 1st, 2009 through May 1st, 2009 there were 5 homes that sold in Eastman. From January 1st, 2010 through May 1st, 2010 there have been 17. That’s correct a more than 300% increase in the year over year time period. Another thing that makes this recovery look good is the amount of homes contingent or pending. Contingent is when there is a Purchase and Sales agreement on a home and the buyer and seller have agreed on a price but there still contingencies that need to be completed. IE; Financing, home and septic inspections etc. Pending is when an agreement has passes through the contingency stage and the sale is eminent. Pending home sales stand at 6 and contingent homes total 9.

The likely hood of all these homes making it through to closing is not 100% but it is very possible that Eastman home sales will reach the low thirty’s in the  first sixth months of the year. This will equal or surpass the total number of homes sold in all of last year! For 2009 there were 32 homes sold in Eastman.

Now the question is will the market continue to be strong? The predictions for higher interest rates hasn’t happened yet. So that is a very positive sign. The home buyer tax credits have expired so only time will tell if there is a slow down in the market. My guess is the tax credit will be a non issue here in Eastman. My reasoning is that Eastman is really not an area that draws first time home buyers. It does happen, several of my sales over the last few years have been to first time buyers. I would put Eastman first time home buyer sales at less than 5% of all homes sold.

I believe that we might see a modest slowdown in sales based on economic activity. Gas is almost $3.00 a gallon. Dartmouth is still reducing it’s work force. How bad is the huge oil spill in the Gulf going to affect the economy? I would think gas and oil prices will rise even more.

I think we get to at least 50 homes sold by years end in the Eastman Community and that’s not a bad year!

Here is a quick overview of pricing and cost per square foot in Eastman NH from 01/01/2010 through 04/19/2010.

A little over three and half months of 2010 have passed and we have had 14 home sales. (Compared to last year that is a huge number). One of the homes sold was a completed shell of a home, that locals know, is on the corner of Cove Dr and Old Spring. Since that house was unfinished I took that out of this calculation. That leaves thirteen homes that had an average cost per square foot of $147.70

This is significantly above the New Hampshire state average of $122.63 (as of 3/31/10) and shows that there is value in Eastman Community that buyers are willing to pay for.

Here’s another stat that shows value. The median selling price for properties in New Hampshire for the month of March 2010 was $179,900. In Eastman the median price, year to date is $219,499. Again I think this shows home value that buyers sometimes question. I’ve often been asked, why homes are so “cheap” or “inexpensive” in Eastman. Well, compared to some areas there is cost and value differences that makes Eastman list prices look like bargain pricing particularly when you compare to values out of state like Massachusetts and Connecticut. Comparing Eastman to the entire New Hampshire Real Estate market Eastman holds it’s.

This is a very interesting article that was in U.S. News & World Report. It’s short and to the point and very positive. No one has a crystal ball, please read and post some comments. I like to read what you have to say and think.

The Future Of Home Prices

View of MT Sunapee From Springfield NH

Normally you can see Big Lake Sunapee from this location. On this morning the clouds were right on the water and made for an outstanding photo, not to mention being there.

It is a rare occurrence and it’s a time like this you just have to stop and enjoy.

The probability of finding Eastman Real Estate that will work for you could not be greater. As of this post

Fall Morning Mist On Eastman Lake

(3/30/10) there are 90 homes currently on the market in the Eastman Community. Since it is very early in the spring season I expect over the next few weeks, we will break 100 homes for sale.

If you are a buyer this is great news! To be able to have a choice or several choices of quality homes in your price range is something that rarely happens. Over the past few years buyers have been lucky with this gift of choice. This year could be the best ever for choice. I think that sellers patients are running out and and trying to ride out the down market is just taking to long.

Buyers should be embracing this opportunity not questioning it! A few years ago buyers were buying a house just because if they didn’t someone else was right behind them waiting to put their money down. Most buyers in the early 2000′s didn’t even like the home they were buying with out saying, “we can change this or fix that”.

What about waterfront? Everyone would love to own on the water if they could. A few years ago there just wasn’t many homes to choose from. The properties that were for sale had huge price tags on them. Now there is affordable choice. Just around Eastman Lake there are several options for homes. Water front condos are available also with several options to choose. If condos are something you might be interested in than there are 32 available units to look at. All but two of them are priced under $300,000. There are some water front units priced under $225,000

The choice is yours!

Now offering a free service about home values.

If your a seller that wants to see how their house compares to others that are currently on the market or a buyer wanting to compare a house you are considering buying, this is a great tool. Just follow the steps and within minutes you will receive a detailed report of what is actively on the market or recent sold properties that compare to data that you entered.

This is really easy to do, give it a try. TRY IT