The Spring Real Estate Market in Southern NH in 2009
The days are getting longer and warmer and the question on everyone’s mind is, will there be a normal spring real estate market? Well, maybe not on every one’s mind but cerainly on the minds of buyers and sellers of homes in southern New Hampshire as well as being an obsession with local real estate agents and brokers.
The short answer is the Spring market is developing just as it always has in the past. Here is what our company has been observing over the past few weeks. Our marketing has generated substantial buyer traffic through our listings. Strong buyer traffic is an indicator of contracts to follow. One of our listings in Windham, in the $400,000 range has had over 25 showings in the past 60 days, recently received two competing offers and is currently under agreement. I went away on vacation for nine days, returned to find seven pending sales notices. The sales professionals in the office are busy with customers and there is a generally upbeat mood that things in general are picking up. This is all after a very slow winter.
The lower end of the market has remained strong throughout. First time buyers are out in force and our sales professionals are finding that bank owned homes and homes priced below $225,000 sell quickly and often have multiple offers. The combination of low home prices and low mortgage rates making homes affordable for those who were shut out of the market two or three years ago.
This surge of sales in the lower end of the market is also impacting the reported average sales prices. If eight homes in a region sell for under $250,000 and two sell for over $400,000 the average sales price will be be impacted by showing a decline in average prices if there are normally more $400,000 homes sold. In other words, prices may not have dropped a much as reported but instead more houses have sold in the lower price ranges.
Then there is mortgage rates that are at historic lows. 15 and 30 years fixed rate mortgages can be found with interest rates in the high 4% range as of the week of March 22nd-28th. This will help the real estate market in the coming weeks especially if rates begin to move higher.
The question mark hanging over the Spring market is inventory. How many new listings will be coming onto the market with the warm weather? For buyers, the new listings will offer a greater selection and the chance to find a home that meets their needs.
All in all, it appears that 2009 will come into bloom with a Spring real estate market just as in years past.
As always proper pricing is the key to getting a home sold. A sales professional at Prudential Dinsmore Associates, REALTORS can prepare a pricing strategy that will get your home sold. They have the tools and experience to expose your property to the widest number of potential buyers both in traditional media outlets and online. Why not call, click or stop by today.