How is the market, really?

Despite hype, N.H. real estate still sells

By Cami Baker
NH Mirror Contributor

This is not a buyers’ market ... or a sellers’ market ... it is a savvy consumers’ market. The people who do their homework, understand the current trends and are not afraid of hard work
will achieve their goals.

Property does, in fact, change hands every day. It may be from the seller who is open-minded to listening to their Realtor’s advice on price and condition or to the first-time buyer who takes advantage of low interest rates and an abundance of information available to them.

It may be to the investor who has vision for the property and patience for the short sale or bank-owned process or from the aggressive Realtor or mortgage person who knows “knowledge is power” and a quick return phone call is not just a promise, but a way of life.

No matter which one of these categories you fall into, the numbers show that the real estate market in New Hampshire is still alive and well.

Would it surprise you to know that – despite the media hype – sales from 2006 to 2007 are only down 9 percent?

According to the New Hampshire Association of Realtors, residential sales in Belknap, Hillsborough, Rockingham and Merrimack counties in 2006 were 8,416. In 2007, sales numbered 7,795.

In addition, the average number of days on market increased by only 17 days – from 110 to 127.

Some people may say, “Nothing is selling,” and it may certainly seem that way. There are currently 5,986 houses on the market just in those four counties. But to say nothing is selling is just not true.

There is no such thing as a “bad market”, just over-priced listings. The fact is that houses in every price range are selling every day. The difference in today’s market vs. two-and-a-half years ago is that now there is a lot of competition.

If you are a seller, you need to create more value in the eyes of the buyer. You can do this by either having the cleanest house with the most features and benefits or the most competitive price. In some cases, you may need both in order to get your house sold.

If you are a buyer or an investor, understand your financing options and focus on a specific type of property. For instance, looking at Sally Homemaker’s warm home with candles burning and cookies baking is a different purchase from Mr. Bankers mold-infested, ice-in-the-toilet, busted-windows concept. Both will sell. Both will make sense to the right buyer.

The number of Realtors is getting smaller, too. In New Hampshire, there are 6,679 Realtors. The overall number of properties sold statewide was 11,989. When you consider that there are two sides to every transaction, there were 23,978 paid agent sides. That averages out to 3½ closings per agent! The average agent in the top 5 percent did more than 30 transactions and/or $7 million in gross sales.

So if you need to sell you can. If you want to find a good deal, they are there. And being a skilled salesperson has never been a bigger part of a Realtor’s job description than now.

Cami Baker is an agent with RE/MAX Elite in Hooksett. She can be reached at 622-7253, ext. 1022, or www.camibaker.com.