Five months of real estate activity in the Lakes Region

The month of May’s real estate statistics just came out for New Hampshire, and it was interesting to see that New Hampshire hit an all-time high for the median price of a single-family home at $465,000. This figure represents the highest single month in the Granite State’s history. However, when you look at the number of single-family homes that sold in May, it resulted in a 22% drop for the month. All of these numbers are reflective of the state’s home inventory crisis. There’s roughly a 1.3-month supply of inventory statewide.

Let’s take a look at 14 towns and cities around the Lakes Region. I’ve pulled the numbers for the first five months in 2023 and compared them with the first five months in 2022. The numbers are quite different for all the towns.

We are starting to see some new listings pop up around the region, and when priced right, the activity is pretty brisk. We’re still seeing some with multiple offers and overbids, and a number of them are waiving home inspections, which I feel is not a good practice. There was a nice waterfront estate on Lake Winnipesaukee in Alton that closed recently at $13.9 million, a new record for a lake resale on Winnipesaukee. This sale surpassed the previous record in 2022 for a $12.3 million waterfront estate in Wolfeboro which at the time was a state record. Keep in mind there are a number of newly constructed estates that surpass the $13.9 million figure, however, they are not listed as resales. In December 2022, an oceanfront estate in Rye Beach sold for $25 million, which now stands as the highest resale in New Hampshire history. I used to go jogging by that house during the summers in my early years, and never did I think it would fetch $25 million. New Hampshire has raised the bar again, and for good reason.

Here’s a breakdown of sales for the first five months in 14 towns around the Lakes Region:

Gilford: 19 closed sales compared with 47 in 2022 (59.6% decrease) median sales price $589,000 compared with $450,000 in 2022 (30.9% increase)

Laconia: 49 closed sales compared with 67 in 2022 (26.9% decrease) median sales price $370,000 compared with $355,000 in 2022 (4.2% increase)

Meredith: 23 closed sales compared with 26 in 2022 (11.5% decrease) median sales price $435,000 compared with $990,000 in 2022 (56.1% decrease)

Alton: 21 closed sales compared with 35 in 2022 (40% decrease) median sales price $440,000 compared with $505,000 in 2022 (12.9% increase)

Wolfeboro: 23 closed sales compared to 30 in 2022 (23.3% decrease) median sales price $485,000 compared to $560,000 in 2022 (13.4% decrease)

Moultonborough: 27 closed sales compared with 33 in 2022 (18.2% decrease) median sales price $575,000 compared with $580,000 in 2022 (0.9% decrease)

Tuftonboro: 14 closed sales compared with 11 in 2022 (27.3% decrease) median sales price $464,900 compared with $776,250 in 2022 (40.1% decrease)

Gilmanton: 15 closed sales compared with 26 in 2022 (42.3% decrease) median sales price $348,000 compared with $355,500 in 2022 (2.1% decrease)

Belmont: 24 closed sales compared with 26 in 2022 (7.7% decrease) median sales price $450,000 compared with $394,500 in 2022 (14.1% increase)

Tilton: 9 closed sales compared with 7 in 2022 (28.6% increase) median sales price $365,000 compared with $328,500 in 2022 (11.1% increase)

Franklin: 28 closed sales compared with 23 in 2022 (21.7% increase) median sales price $310,000 compared with $273,900 in 2022 (13.2% increase)

Bristol: 10 closed sales compared with 15 in 2022 (33.3% decrease) median sales price $333,751 compared with $325,000 in 2022 (2.7% increase)

Northfield: 13 closed sales compared with 14 in 2022 (7.1% decrease) median sales price $350,000 compared with $415,500 in 2022 (15.8% decrease)

Sanbornton: 11 closed sales compared with 17 in 2022 (35.3% decrease) median sales price $500,000 compared with $389,000 in 2022 (28.5% increase)

You can see from the above that there were only two towns, Tilton and Franklin, out of the 14 that showed an increase in unit sales. The majority resulted in a considerable decrease. On the other hand, half of the towns showed an increase in the median sales price, and half showed a decrease. It should be interesting to see what the second half of this year will bring.

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This article was written by Frank Roche. Frank is president of Roche Realty Group with offices in Meredith and Laconia, NH, and can be reached at 603-279-7046. Data was compiled by a NEREN search on June 8, and is subject to change. Please feel free to visit rocherealty.com to learn more about the Lakes Region and its real estate market.