Seacoast Real Estate Market Insights

*Visit Lynne's SEACOAST NH REAL ESTATE BLOG for the latest market news!*

 
Realtors See Leveling in Housing Market This Spring

Seacoastonline.com
June 13, 2009

PORTSMOUTH — Year-over-year residential home sales in New Hampshire dropped 6 percent, from 937 sales in May 2008 to 881 in May 2009.

"After a nearly four-year period of consistent and substantial monthly decreases, we remain optimistic that we're seeing signs of a recovery in the housing market," said New Hampshire Association of Realtors President Paul Sargeant.

"Our members are generally experiencing an increase in activity that is giving us hope."

Comparing only March through May this year to the same period in 2008 shows a drop of 3 percent, which Sargeant cited as a positive sign.

How You Can Navigate Short Home Sales

Bankrate.com
June 13, 2009 6:00 AM

This spring, real estate sales began picking up in many U.S. markets as buyers snatched up homes at depressed price levels. But not all sales have been proceeding smoothly. As a rule, sales involving foreclosures and short sales take longer than usual to close because of their inherent complexity.

Still, they represent a significant portion of sales activity. In February, these transactions made up 45 to 50 percent of all sales, sometimes more in parts of the country where the foreclosure rates were particularly high, according to the National Association of Realtors.

How can you get in on a good short-sale deal? It takes a certain amount of fortitude and patience, plus a lot of luck.

Portsmouth Bucks Nationwide Foreclosure Trend
Modest gains in local housing market

Seacoastonline.com
March 15, 2009

NEWINGTON — While many communities in the state have seen sharp increases in foreclosures, plummeting home values, increased unemployment and significant drops in single-family home sales, Portsmouth has seen little to no change from 2006 to 2008.

Portsmouth, and most of the towns that border it, have remained largely insulated from drastic increases in foreclosures nationwide. In a city of more than 20,000 people, there were 10 foreclosures in 2006, 14 in 2007, and 13 in 2008. Exeter, Dover, Seabrook, and Hampton have not fared as well and have all seen a rise in foreclosure activity. Read More

How Homebuyers Find Good Schools

Associated Press
February 21, 2009

LOS ANGELES — Choosing a neighborhood with good schools often is near the top of the list for homebuyers. But what makes a school better than the next goes beyond test scores and student-teacher ratios.

To find out which schools make the grade, homebuyers can tap into Web sites that offer an assortment of school and neighborhood data. Generally, the sites mine government school and demographic data to generate their school profiles, so details on private schools are harder to come by. Read More

IgoUgo Travel Blog Names Portsmouth 1 of 15 Top Summer Getaways in the Northeast

Igougo.com
June 18, 2008

From socialite-studded Southampton to family-packed Ocean City, it can be difficult to claim a spot at the beach—or anywhere else—before Labor Day in the Northeast. To help, IgoUgo members name favorite places short on crowds and commute time. These picks are perfect for a weekend or week away close to the Northeast Corridor, by car or by train.

Portsmouth, NH
Why fight off waves of tourists in Boston or New York when you can discover Portsmouth, a “big-ish” city “in the midst of a renaissance..." Read More

NH Ranks No. 1 in Kids Well-Being Study
Kids Count measured states in 10 categories

Associated Press
June 12, 2008 6:00 AM

NEW YORK — New Hampshire was ranked No. 1 in the country by the annual Kids Count report, released Wednesday, on the health and well-being of America's youth, which measures the states in 10 categories. Overall, the report found progress, as well as some setbacks.

The report documented improvements in the nation's child death rate, teen death rate, teen birth rate, high school dropout rate, and teens not in school and not working. There was no change in the infant mortality rate, while four areas worsened: low-birth weight babies, children living with jobless or underemployed parents, children in poverty, and children in single-parent families. Read More

Modest gains in local housing market

Seacoastonline.com
April 4, 2008

NEWINGTON — The Seacoast area real estate market registered a modest gain in March. Pending sales of single-family homes increased 25 percent in the nine sample Seacoast towns and closed sales experienced a 29.1 percent increase from February.

Condominium pending sales were up 15.1 percent — the third straight month of increased pending units. Sales rebounded 12.5 percent in March, following a slight decline in February. Read More

Portsmouth named most walkable city in NH, 58th in nation