No time is better than the present for second home buyers

Realtors are certainly becoming popular, at least at gatherings and parties. Not for their entertaining personalities, perhaps, but for what opinion they might venture regarding the direction of the real estate market.

Now, man is a gregarious social creature, not a herd animal mind you, but one who is aware of time and therefore timing. Is this the “bottom”?  I don’t know. I do know that home prices have come down significantly in the past year or so, while financing rates have been more or less firm. While I embrace time, I prefer to exclude timing, championing Newton over Leibniz.

Buyers seeking second homes usually do so for the fundamental desire of establishing a personal alternative to their familiar routine, no matter how interesting and stimulating. Picking the absolute market nadir for a second homebuyer becomes almost antithetical to their true interests. And, the total variables determining a “market bottom” are so numerous and diverse that picking it becomes more a matter of chance than any realized action.

At the same time, sellers have their own time tables and they may be quite different from most buyers. They, if they wish to follow classic market precepts, need to position their property competitively to the general market to attract the buyer. But, waterfront homes in the Lakes Region present unique market conditions; for the buyer pool is large, diverse and can exert unanticipated influence on the actual selling prices on the local market.

My advice, therefore, which I offer to one and all, is that if you see something you like and have the means, don’t hesitate, but make it your own. After all, time as we experience it proceeds in only one direction.

Jim Ferriman            Jferriman@spencerhughes.com (603) 267-9866

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