Whether you currently have your New Hampshire home listed for sale or you would like to stay updated on the activity of the local real estate market as a potential buyer or seller, it is important to look at past real estate market data to understand and anticipate future trends. The New Hampshire Association of REALTORS® (NHAR) has recently released the March 2015, year-to-date and 2015 Q1 data for the New Hampshire real estate market.
All of New Hampshire
The entire state of New Hampshire saw a positive change across the board in residential home closed sales, median sales price, sales volume, and pending sales in the first quarter of 2015.
Compared to the first quarter of 2014, there was a 2.2% increase in closed residential sales, a 1.6% increase in median sales price, a 2.5% increase in sales volume, and a 1.7% increase in pending sales. Also, the average days on market for residential homes in the first quarter of 2015 decreased 1.8%, which is good news for home sellers as homes spent fewer days on the market.
Additionally, New Hampshire condominium sales saw improvements in the first quarter of 2015 with a 5.8% increase to 604 units closed and an 8.6% increase to 696 units pending sales compared to the first quarter of 2014.
Since “location, location, location” in real estate is a critical driving element in sales, let’s take a closer look at county data for Sullivan County and Grafton County.
Sullivan County Single Family Residential Sales
While the single family residential home sales for the state increased, home sales in Sullivan County decreased in the first quarter of 2015 compared to last year by 10% to 63 closed sales. Pending sales decreased 2.5% to 78. The average number of days on market also moved in the wrong direction, up 27.6% to 157 days.
Although Sullivan County experienced fewer residential home closings in Q1 2015, the homes sold were at higher prices evidenced by the jump in total residential sales volume from $10 million in Q1 2014 to $12 million in Q1 2015.
Grafton County Single Family Residential Sales
After two months of decreased residential home sales in January and February 2015, Grafton County completed the first quarter up in sales, thanks to a 20% sales increase in March 2015.
Overall, Grafton County experienced a 5% increase in residential home sales with 148 closings this quarter compared to 141 closings in Q1 2014. Pending home sales also increased 8.6% to 164 pending sales.
Grafton County also experienced a small 1.5% increase in median sales price in Q1 2015. However, total sales volume in Grafton County was down 8.5%. So although there were more home closings in Q1 2015, the sales prices of those homes combined (the total sales volume) were less than those in Q1 2014.
NH County Condo Closings
Sullivan County saw large jumps in the first quarter of 2015 in the number of condo sales with closed sales up 166.7% to 8 and pending sales up 125% to 9.
The condo market in Grafton County in Q1 2015 remained comparable to Q1 2014. Closed condo sales this quarter were exactly the same as last year (56 closings), and pending sales went down 8.2% to 56.
National Real Estate Market Trends
The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) announced existing home sales, which include single family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, on the national level jumped in March 2015.
According to NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun in this NAR article, "The combination of low interest rates and the ongoing stability in the job market is improving buyer confidence and finally releasing some of the sizable pent-up demand that accumulated in recent years." However, Yun notes the need for increased inventory to match a significant increase in demand that has been observed nationally. “‘More listings and new home construction are still needed to tame price growth and provide more opportunity for first-time buyers to enter the market.’”
If you’re on the fence about buying or selling your New Hampshire home, hopefully these New Hampshire real estate market insights are helpful. If you’re located in the Upper Valley or Dartmouth - Lake Sunapee Region, our qualified Realtors at CG Shepherd Realty, LLC are happy to speak with you about the real estate market in your local community. Contact us at CG Shepherd Realty, LLC.
(Data for this article was found in the following NHAR Real Estate Market Data Reports: March 2015 and Year-to-Date NHAR Market Data and Q1 2015 NHAR Market Data)
View past 2014 and 2013 New Hampshire Real Estate Market Data.