Selling a home is a little like jumping off a high spot while clutching a rope swing. In both cases it is critical to let go at just the right time. If you’ve been holding onto your Lakes Region property in Laconia, Gilford, Meredith or Moultonborough now might be the right time to let go and list.
Here’s why. In March 2018, home sales in 174 nationwide markets showed the highest price increase in four years, according to the real estate web portal Redfin.
The spike in home value is predictable, not surprising. Swinging like Tarzan is the direct consequence of jumping from a high perch while gripping a knotted rope. Similarly, elevated home prices are the direct consequence of low inventory. The lower the supply of homes for sale, the higher home prices tend to swing.
The median nationwide price for homes sold in March 2018 jumped 8.9 percent compared with March 2017. That’s because the supply of homes for sale was down 11.9 percent from a year ago, and the number of new listings in March dropped 5.6 percent compared to last March.
On average across the nation, homes went under contract in 43 days in March 2018. That’s over a week faster than a year ago and a March record. Nearly a quarter of homes sold for more than their list prices.
The trends are similar here in the Lakes Region. For example, listings for single family homes and condominiums in Gilford, Laconia, Meredith and Moultonborough in March 2018 were down 11 percent from last year.
The median ‘days on market’ for listed Lakes Region homes in March, 2017 was 36. This year that number plunged to just five days on market.
As a result of low inventory, homes in these four Lakes Region towns are selling at the highest prices and fastest speeds in at least a decade (visit www.LakesRegionHomeSeller.com for details).
But with home sales as with rope swings, timing is everything because markets can swing like pendulums. Hold onto the rope for too long and you risk landing in the shallow water, or the dirt. When prospective home sellers hold on too long, home sales can plummet, which typically causes prices to drop a few months later.
Further, there’s the looming impact of rising interest rates. We’ve been blessed with a low interest rate environment during the last nine years, in which rates were under four percent. But many analysts are predicting five percent interest rates by the end of the year. According to a Redfin survey of 4,000 consumers at the end of last year, a five percent interest rate would cause more than a quarter of today’s homebuyers to slow their plans.
Lakes Region homeowners who held on too long and missed the opportunity to sell at the previous peak had to wait nearly ten years for home values to recover.
If you’ve been thinking about selling your Laconia, Gilford, Meredith or Moultonborough home, now might be the right time to let go and list. If you’re ready to take the plunge I’m here to help. Contact me to see what your property might be worth today in today’s market.
Brent Metzger is a sale
s associate at Roche Realty Group in Meredith, NH. He can be reached on his cell phone at (603) 229-8322, at the office at (603) 279-7046, or by e-mail: [email protected]
Please feel free to visit www.rocherealty.com to learn more about the Lakes Region and its real estate market.
