Executive Homes Sales Report – Nashua, Hollis & Amherst, NH – April 2009
May 23rd, 2009by Bill Spinelli
“Lonely at the Top ???”
This real estate by-line is inspired by a great satirist of the everyday clichés of life – with an unusual sense of humor. For you more musically inclined ( and slightly older folks ) – Randy Newman.
Certainly – from a newspaper selling perspective – NH “follows” nationwide trends on a generalized basis. However, we should constantly remind ourselves that New Hampshire is neither California, Florida, Phoenix nor Las Vegas. I believe quite strongly that opportunities are the greatest in times like now – so hopefully we can uncover actual local conditions and potentially capitalize ( as both Buyers and Sellers) over “generalized” mentalities and thinkers.
At the Executive Home level ( selling at $500,000+ ) in Nashua, Amherst and Hollis, the market appears to be abnormally favorable for the qualified Buyers. Why ?? Thus far in 2009 – the number of executive homes sold (9) is the lowest since 2002 (5) and dramatically below 2008 levels (21) . The 2009 per square foot “sold” price ( $145 sq/ft) was also the lowest in seven years and almost 20% below 2008 results ( $180 sq/ft).
From the Sellers perspective – “For Sale” pricing ( what the Seller wants to get) remains stable in 2009 ( $200/sq/ft average ). The huge disparity to the above is possibly best explained by the historic constants amongst more financially stable people. Financially stable people are both willing to wait and capable of waiting. They are more inclined to hold their pricing. Whatever the motivating reasons – change of life event ( health, divorce, death), retirement ( “I don’t give a damn – I / we are out of here” ) or a financial reversal – thus far in 2009 – it appears “lonely at the top” – for the executive home Sellers in Nashua, Amherst and Hollis. Quite simply – the best explanation appears to be that only the “very highly motivated” sellers are selling.
For those interested in the statistics backing up the above and maybe hypothecating longer-term trends ( 2002 to 2009) – simply keep reading. For those numerous others – unlike myself – who are more left-side brained ( or is it right-side brained ?) you can stop reading right now – my feelings will not be hurt. The bottom line reads the same.
Number of Executive Homes Sold – January to April – 2002 to 2009. Since 2002 ( only 5 sales) the number of executive homes sold had been trending upward fairly constantly. In 2003 (14 ), 2004 (12) , 2005 (23), 2006 (24), 2007 (19) ,and 2008 (21). The drop-off to only nine ( 9) executive homes sold in 2009 for the same January to April timeframe is definitely attention getting. However – this is a small database to utilize in drawing any meaningful conclusions – at least for right now.
Per Square Foot Sold Prices – January to April – 2002 to 2009. Again – these numbers generate an interesting pattern and are ( more recently) perhaps only useful to Buyers who can find the “very highly motivated” Seller. The average finished per square foot (Fin Sqft) selling price was $139 in 2002. For the average 4,600 Sqft home, this translated to an average $642,000 sold price. In 2003 those numbers were $153 / 4,100 / $631,000.
In 2004 the average executive home size fell below 4,000 square feet. The figures were $156 / 3,860 / $603,000. In 2005 those numbers were $173 / 3,860 (again) / $669,000. In 2006 we had $173 (again) / 3,680 / $638,000. Somewhat surprisingly in 2007 ( the recession was recognized then by a murmuring few) the numbers were $185 / 3,660 / $678,500.
As previously mentioned , In 2009, the Fin Sqft selling price dropped off dramatically to $145. An average home of 4,360 sqft translated to an average $634,000 sold price. (Note: for the first time since 2003 the average executive home size exceeded 4,000 Sqft.).
Ok – I have had enough numbers for this update. Going forward – I’m returning to my foundation mantra : “Report Monthly – Evaluate Quarterly “. See you again after June ‘09 – on a meaningful basis – but I know that I will be checking out May ’09 results ( force of habit ) .
One more – there are currently 90 active listings of executive homes in Nashua, Hollis and Amherst.
Based on information from the Northern New England Real Estate Network, Inc. for the period January 1, 2002 to April 30, 2009.
Contributed by Bill Spinelli, Associate Broker, Bean Group.
October 12th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
[...] lag” for the Executive Home market are found in my Blog written last May – “Lonely at the Top ???” . Basically, the “top” was reached in 2007 for Executive Home sales. ). Once the [...]