Here’s an update on the waterfront sales activity that we experienced over the past two years in the Lakes Region:
Lakes Region Waterfront Sales Activity
Lake Winnipesaukee (44,586 acres)
2021: 134 sales, median days on the market 9, median sales price $1,450,000, Lowest $255,000, highest $8,500,000, total $252,863,350.
2020: 173 sales, median days on the market 30, median sales price $1,265,000, Lowest $250,000, highest $5,250,000, total $268,828,716.
As of 2/11/2022, there are only 11 Lake Winnipesaukee waterfront homes for sale at a median listing price of $3,900,000, 89 median days on the market.
Squam Lake (6,765 acres)
2021: 8 sales, median days on the market 102, median sales price $1,925,000, Lowest $1,300,000, highest $3,225,000, total $16,035,000.
2020: 10 sales, median days on the market 4, median sales price $1,925,000, Lowest $975,100, highest $3,795,000, total $22,476,100.
As of 2/11/2022, there are no Squam Lake listings for sale.
Lake Winnisquam (4,214 acres)
2021: 18 sales, median days on the market 9, median sales price $1,347,500, Lowest $145,000, highest $2,950,000, total $26,931,804.
2020: 19 sales, median days on the market 7, median sales price $800,000, Lowest $265,000, highest $1,500,000, total $16,115,000.
As of 2/11/2022, there are no Lake Winnisquam waterfront listings for sale.
Newfound Lake (4,106 acres)
2021: 10 sales, median days on the market 11, median sales price $1,087,500, Lowest $700,000, highest $2,575,000, total $12,593,400.
2020: 14 sales, median days on the market 25, median sales price $1,155,500, Lowest $575,000, highest $2,000,000, total $15,876,000.
As of 2/11/2022, there are no Newfound Lake listings for sale.
Merrymeeting Lake (1,111 acres)
2021: 15 sales, median days on the market 7, median sales price $765,000, Lowest $310,000, highest $1,700,000, total $12,401,000.
2020: 8 sales, median days on the market 6, median sales price $613,050, Lowest $470,000, highest $1,805,000, total $6,197,100.
As of 2/11/2022, there are no Merrymeeting Lake listings for sale.
Lake Waukewan (912 acres)
2021: 4 sales, median days on the market 35, median sales price $1,149,995, Lowest $575,000, highest $1,350,000, total $4,224,990.
2020: 11 sales, median days on the market 4, median sales price $715,000, Lowest $550,000, highest $2,055,000, total $9,950,000.
As of 2/11/2022, there are only 2 Lake Waukewan waterfront homes for sale at a median listing price of $912,450, 9 median days on the market.
Lakes Region Real Estate News
- In the Lakes Region (including 25 towns and cities), there are currently only 124 single-family homes for sale. Median days on the market 70, median listing price $482,500.
- In New Hampshire, there are currently only 682 single-family homes for sale (the lowest inventory on record according to the New Hampshire Association of Realtors®.) Median days on the market 41, median listing price $473,750. Compare that to 2017, when there was more than five times as many homes on the market in New Hampshire.
- During 2021 there were 14,213 single-family homes sales in New Hampshire. That’s 5% down from 2020’s total and a 13% decline from 2019’s total.
- Nationally home price gains averaged 15% in 2021, up from 6% in 2020, according to CoreLogic. However, Zillow indicated home values increased 19.6% for 2021. The profit on a typical home sale last year was over $94,000, according to Atton, a national property database. That’s up 45% from the profit in 2020 and up 71% from the previous year. It was estimated that approximately 42% of homeowners were considered “equity rich” at the end of last year, meaning their mortgages were half of less than half the value of their home. Black Knight’s Mortgage Monitor estimated that the average homeowner now has $185,000 in tappable equity. That translates into a lot of spending power. Black Knight indicated that borrowers were pulling more cash out of their homes than they had in 14 years. Rising mortgage rates, however, could dampen this trend as we move to higher rates.
- Rapidly rising wages and inflation that notched a new record this week at 7.5% year over year, the highest since 1982, is pushing the Fed in the position of playing catch up. Gas prices hit a 7 year high, and oil has topped $90 a barrel. It’s likely we will see $4.00/gallon gas soon. It’s projected that we might see 4% interest rates this year to help tame inflation. Many economists and lenders see mortgages at 4% or higher by year-end for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. That’s still affordable when you consider interest rates averaged 6.29% in the 2000s, 8.12% in the 1990s, and 12.7% in the 1980s. The 10-year Treasury yield topped 2% for the first time this week since 2019 after the hot inflation report.
In summary, the big question is, will the 2022 housing market continue to follow the same trajectory of 2021 & 2022, or are we facing a possible downturn? Industry experts don’t expect the 2022 housing market to be as crazy as 2020 or 2021. Industry experts project that the inventory situation should improve; slowing price appreciation and higher interest rates will have a dampening effect. Over 100 industry experts are projecting a more modest appreciation of 5.1% in the next 12 months compared to the nearly 20% rise seen on average in 2021. Sounds like better news from my perspective.
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. Town data was compiled by a NEREN search on 2/7/2022 at 11:00 am EST and is subject to change. Please feel free to visit www.rocherealty.com to learn more about the Lakes Region and its real estate market.
