According to a National Association of Realtors (NAR) statistic the combined total of second home sales in 2005 accounted for 4 out of every 10 real estate transactions. The NAR determined that these second home buyers bought 41% of the time for vacation purposes, 31% for use as a family retreat and 28% to diversify their investments.

Now, why would anyone at the end of 2009 care about statistical data from 2005? We can assert that the underlying motivations for the buyers haven’t changed. Mortgage interest rates remain attractive, the stock market is still uncertain, the geo-political scene is roughly the same and congress is no more or less united on any clear objective.

From a realtor’s standpoint home values appeared to have reached a short term peak during the summer of 2006 and since then the difference between the listing and closing price of the average residence has widened, in short the market has shifted to the buyer’s advantage.

The basic axiom of real estate is and has always been that of location. This certainly holds firmly for the second home buyer. The appeal of the area, the activity options available, the quality of life, the distance from the primary residence, the services present and the general interest in the area are key to the second home buyer.

What does the Lakes Region offer in amenities to the second home buyer? The local chamber of commerce of Wolfeboro, Meredith, Gilford, Tuftonboro, Alton and Moultonborough would be happy to recount the outstanding features of the Lake Winnipesaukee area for you and I suggest that you take the time to review all the information available. The key to a happy and successful second home investment is the research effort and continued discussion involving the whole family.

What brought me to the area was water. The Western part of the country is drying up at the same time it is filling up. Water experts have for a number of years warned that the net result for the inevitable water restrictions on land west of the 100th meridian line may well be calamitous for the large population centers. I believe them. And as someone once said, “good waterfront acreage is becoming scarcer and scarcer”.

Well, deer season starts in a week. Most of the Lakes Region fall into the J1 and J2 hunting sections, among the most productive in the state. Time to put away the golf clubs, stow the boat and clean the rifle. Another compelling reason for the New Hampshire second home buyer to consider property in the Lakes Region.

Regards,

Jim Ferriman      Jferriman@spencerhughes.com     603-520-5385

One of the things I do for myself is to enjoy a fire at my outdoor hearth. I built, and rebuilt, my fireplace near the shoreline at Loon Pond in Gilmanton, New Hampshire where I live. Decorated with what are my versions of ancient pictographs and embellished with fossils and arrowheads set into the concrete I encourage a spark set in birch bark until it blossoms into fire. After that I have the star show, on a clear night, the sounds of the pond and woods as darkness settles and the occasional seemingly pure level of clarity of thought that makes everything fall into harmony with the world. What more can a person, of admittedly modest wants and desires than to be allowed to experience these overlooked discoveries.

What can say about Gilmanton, www.Gilmantonnh.org? A place with its own unique history and continued human interactions reaching back into pre-Abenaki cultures. Its most famous resident of recent times, Grace Metalious of “Peyton Place” fame, wrote her way into the modern lexicon. The Province Road following the ancient Indian Trail leads from the coast and Portsmouth into the Connecticut River Valley and Canada. The 1793 historic B&B Temperance Tavern, a favorite on Halloween, its reputedly haunted and the town offices lie at the center of what once had been the most populous town in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire.

I’ve written before at some length regarding the friendly business climate New Hampshire extends to out of state businesses and organizations considering relocation. The salubrious natural environment of the Lakes Region and its changing seasons. The strategic geographical location of the state at the northern tip of the population colossus of the Eastern Seaboard. And, of course, the multi-faceted natural recreation and sports environment. The focal point of which is of one of the crown jewels of New England, Lake Winnipesaukee.

The great fair of the North Country, the Fryeburg Fair www.Fryeburgfair.com in nearby Fryeburg Maine begins this weekend. By the time it is over a million people from around the country will have visited it. Another of my fellow realtors and associate, Sandi Patterson, takes the week to volunteer and drive a team of draft horses in the pulls. Time well spent I’d say. Most New Hampshire communities have the annual fairs and “old home day” celebrations, which are looked forward to by all. I think it is greater physical separation between neighbors here, more so than so the wide-open spaces of the west, that allows us all to look forward to the big rendezvous. The natural society of friendship trumps the regimented society of the mega urban environments. Always will. One listing on Loon Pond that is well worth your review, MLS#2748202, especially at this time of year, the photos will show you why.

Jim Ferriman Jferriman@spencerhughes.com 603-520-5385