slow market in realestate (Dover, Merrimack: sale, foreclosures, rent to own)

[southward bound]

Originally Posted by Valerie C

Hey Southward Bound, keep us informed as to how that 2nd showing goes... it's always a good sign when they come back for another look How has the feedback been from the people who have looked so far, and how does the price compare to similar houses that are on the market? Buyers these days are REALLY picky, and even after you think you have a good offer, expect them to nitpick on any home inspection issues that may surface, no matter how minor!! It's not over till it's over...

We've had 17 showings with the current agent, with feedback from about 90% of those. Some agents don't ever return my agent's call. The feedback in all was that it's a nice house, shows well. Everyone seems to like it, especially the lake and private beach. A few people said they've just started looking. I can understand that. It's priced right where the agent said it should be (everything has been dropping in price by $5-10K over the last 6 mos., so we're did the same to stay competitive. Everything in the house is updated and new,and there's a home warranty that goes with the house, so it would be hard to find any negatives. We'll just have to wait and see.

I kept thinking that the "economy is good" as they kept reporting, so I couldn't understand why housing is ina slump except as it ties into interest rates. I don't really understand all the complexities of that. I know that here in NC where we are the market is good, lots of building going on, prices are holding well from what I can see. With all the numbers of people flowing into the state, it's understandabe that it's a busy market. They say stats show 100 people/day moving to NC. Mind-boggling, really. It's funny how the housing market in some regions in the country are so hard hit, but not all.

[WIMU]

I am somewhat annoyed that the agents basically do very little to sell your house. They put an ad or so in the papers or some magazine but many agents are never proactive in seeking sellers or following up on showings. I have come up with more ideas than my agent has. I t just seems that the agents were selling so easily in the last 10 years that they don't know what to do now when the market is bad. There are many agents who never respond to how a showing went which is very bad business policy. My agent always gets an e-mail which is so impersonal it never says what was not right. People don't talk to each other anymore because of the email syndrome. Nobody offers advice just too impersonal.

[east2west]

Southern New Hampshire real estate still seems priced high in certain locations, Bedford, especially. Are buyers actually paying the listing prices or are they coming in around 10% less than the asking price? I still see some of the same houses on the MLS that were there 6 mos ago. Some of them are even empty. I think people who bought in the last 3 years area going to take a hit as the prices have definitely dropped.

[southward bound]

Originally Posted by east2west

Southern New Hampshire real estate still seems priced high in certain locations, Bedford, especially. Are buyers actually paying the listing prices or are they coming in around 10% less than the asking price? I still see some of the same houses on the MLS that were there 6 mos ago. Some of them are even empty. I think people who bought in the last 3 years area going to take a hit as the prices have definitely dropped.

From what I've seen (my agent always sends us analyses of what's sold/gone under contract, etc. in the last couple months, but I haven't seen the most recent yet) the prices seen to be very close to list price, around 98% or so. That may be because sellers have already been dropping their list prices right along and the homes for the most part are very fairly priced, and some are downright bargains.

[JC1953]

Hi,
My husband and I will be relocating to NH by the end of August. I would appreciate any feedback on the NH real estate market at this time.
I have been keeping an eye on the Northwood/Nottingham area, as well as New Ipswich.
Thanks!
JC

[WannaComeHome]

Originally Posted by JC1953

I have been keeping an eye on the Northwood/Nottingham area, as well as New Ipswich.

Hi JC-
New Ipswich!! I don't know a thing about Northwood/Nottingham, but we're about to settle on land in New Ipswich. I can tell you that the taxes are pretty low for the state, they seem to not really like to spend money, but the roads are plowed just fine in the winter. All the people I've dealt with have been very friendly. It has 4 schools (2 of which are regionals). It's not as small a town as some places, but it's definatley not a city - about 5-6,000 pop.

What really struck my husband was that although it's right on the Mass border, it didn't feel like the citified other towns in central/east NH. It still felt 'small town'. However it does have helpful infrastructure that I find good to have nearby: it has a bank, a dentist, I think a dr, 2 gas stations, 2 convenience stores, a small hardware store, and a small diner - and 1 traffic light on blink! Grocery shopping is mostly done in Milford, the hospital is in Peterborough. The town website is at <http://www.townofnewipswich.org/>

As to the real estate market, well, things are still selling. We thought they would have dried up over the winter and they didn't. Some places aren't selling, some are.. I know there's a lovely historic (1795) colonial with 3 bedrooms and 1.5 baths on 4 acres that's still for sale - the Isaac Appleton House. I know because it's the house I lived in until I was 3, and I'm keeping an eye on it! I hope I get to know whoever buys it <G>.

Do try to drive around NH a bit and get the feel of the towns. And make sure you check out New Ipswich.

[JC1953]

Hi WannaComeHome,
Thanks for responding. My husband and I are originally from MA, moved to TN - 15 years ago, and now we are moving back home. We have spent quite a bit of time in NH - up in the White Mountains, and over the past few years we have vacationed in NH and Maine. We have spent days driving around the Keene area, Lakes Region, and Seacoast, all in preparation for moving back to NE.
So in about a month - July 27th to be exact, we will be driving up to NH and settling there for good. We figure we would get something temporary around the Manchester area, and then spend a few months getting a feel for the area, and spending time figuring out where we want to finally settle down.
We will definitely check out New Ispwich. What is the drive time to the Manchester area? 1/2 hr or so? Also, what is the job market in the area. My field is Accounting, mainly General Ledger and Accounts Receivables. How is the Petersborough area job market?

Once again, Thanks for responding and best of luck with your new land.
JC

[WannaComeHome]

Originally Posted by JC1953

So in about a month - July 27th to be exact, we will be driving up to NH and settling there for good. We figure we would get something temporary around the Manchester area, and then spend a few months getting a feel for the area, and spending time figuring out where we want to finally settle down.
We will definitely check out New Ispwich. What is the drive time to the Manchester area? 1/2 hr or so? Also, what is the job market in the area. My field is Accounting, mainly General Ledger and Accounts Receivables. How is the Petersborough area job market?

Too funny! our settlement will be July 30, so we're flying in to Manchester late on the 28th!

Drive time to Manchester is about an hour. You've got to remember that there are only a couple 'superslab' highways in NH so a lot of it is on smaller state roads. Basically you have to come down Rt 101/a thorugh Milford and into Wilton. New Ipswich is at the merging of Rts 123 & 124 - Rt 123 (I think) then heads off through Sharon towards Peterborough. Depending on which part of New Ipswich, you might be able to do it in 45min - depends on how you drive, my hubby sets the speed control at the speed limit <sigh>.

New Ipswich is another bedroom town, there's not a lot of jobs actually IN town - except maybe Warwick Mills (dupont textiles, now famous). I really don't know what the job market is like as hubby will have retired from his job and will mostly be trying to teach or something to keep himself from going nutty. I personally, plan to putter My mother was a bookkeeper, she worked for Sanders in Nashua (lived in Milfor and Mont Vernon).

Again, depending on where you're starting from (and how you drive) Peterborough may be 24 miles, or only 10 minutes - according to mapquest from our land to Pet. main street, and according to my mother who drove herself to the hospital when I was born. Your mileage may vary.

[Yankeehombre]

Was there ever a time to drive a harder bargain?? What appears to be negative, is change which is positive. The rules are different and you can make your own in a buyers market.

[JC1953]

Yea that is funny! We figure we will sign the papers on the 27th (if all goes well) pick up the dogs and head north. Probably up through TN, KY Ohio, PA, across NY then VT and NH. Should be interesting!
I am pretty sure we have been up in the Peterborough area. We looked at a home in Hancock, and some land in Nelson and Harrisville, but never did any touring of towns near the MA / NH line.
Thanks for the info!
JC