If you have visited the ski mountains here in the valley, you know how great and affordable they can be. Attitash Mountain and Cranmore Mountain are two awesome mountains with loads to do besides just skiing. If you haven’t been here before, check out this great article on TripAdvisor, it shows North Conway as the most affordable ski destination in the Northeast! It also shows New England as the most pocket friendly region in the US. Even more proof that the Mount Washington Valley has it all, at a price you can afford. The article can be viewed here.

For questions regarding Attitash Mountain Real Estate, Cranmore Real Estate, or anything else regarding skiing or vacation homes, contact one of our agents today!

Happy New Year! With 2012 right around the corner (just a few hours away)! I thought it time to think about some of the best ways to engage with the real estate market this coming year.  I came up with 8 great ideas to inspire you to action!

Buy your first home

If you are ready to buy your first home now is the time.  I would even go so far as to say that if you are ready stop reading this article right now and start searching or contact us.  Great prices and record low interest rates combine to make this the very best time to get started on home ownership.  The Buyers section of our website has some great resources.  And searching on JtRealty.com is simple and easy.  Don’t forget to register so you can save your searches and receive the notifications you choose with no obligation.

Become a real estate agent

For the go-getter, there is always money to be made in real estate!  Start now building your contacts and be in position to capitalize on any market changes. For more information on how to start your real estate career head over to the Careers section of JtRealty.com.

Take advantage of a 1031 Tax-deferred exchange

If you have been maintaining your rental property for some time now you may be losing margin.  Put the tax advantages of a 1031 exchange to work for you to acquire a more valuable rental property. Interested?  Check out these NH multifamily units for sale right now.  If you want to learn more about the advantages of a 1031 exchange you can connect with one of our preferred 1031 exchange vendors.

Buy your first investment property

So the 1031 exchange doesn’t apply to you because you don’t own a rental property? Make 2012 the year to change that.  With great prices and a selection of available income properties you can get started letting someone else pay for your investment!

Buy that lakefront property you have always dreamed of

Living in a lakefront home is a goal for many.  Start early and you could be enjoying the lake by summer, just dive in!  Or if you prefer rivers you might try a riverfront property.  With much to choose from you are sure to satisfy that dream.

Buy a ski condo

We just added four Attitash Mountain condos to our best buy page!  There are so many good deals on ski condos right now you have an amazing selection.  Make this the year you can simply ski home at the end of the day! On top of the great real estate available at the local ski areas Trip Advisor just ranked the North Conway as the most affordable ski destination in the Northeast and second in the US overall! Search for Attitash Condos or Mount Cranmore condos right here.

Trade up

With so many properties on the market right now, many people feel it is the wrong time to sell their home.  This may not be true at all.  While many properties are available, the right property at the right price will always move quickly.  If you have been in your home for a few years you may be able to take advantage of all that is available on the market right now.  At the very least it can’t hurt to look! Start your search today.

Renovate

This is the approach I often take.  Renovations add not only financial value to your home, they also add enjoyment value.  No matter how long you have been in your home, there is always something on the wish list.  In my house right now the wish is new countertops.  Whatever your wish, if you put a plan together now, you can start sooner.  Winter is a great time for many renovations as contractors can be less busy, giving you more attention and possibly a better price.  If you are the handy sort then break out the tools while the weather is cold. You can check our preferred contractors for a start on your project or look into other JtRealty preferred vendors under the About Us section above.

Quiet anonymity is a life path some choose and fully embrace. I suppose that suit has never fit me just right and is perhaps why real estate and teaching have been my first career instincts. You know, for brief moments in my work I have a captive audience. And it’s not feeding the ego but rather the interaction that is rewarding. Figuring out what motivates a student, a buyer, a seller is all very fascinating in a world of social animals and a  smile at the end of a day keeps me on the return when this market is full of lumps, bruises, and near misses.

Do I dare say this is my art? Do I dare suggest business can be something more than the passing of paper and documents? Ryan me dear fellow I think you’ve got something here!

Because this business is gently informing a Manahatten client we lost the purchase to someone with more cash — his retirment home would have to wait.  Or sharing deep emapthy with a client who lost his wife to cancer and never sat at the table when we closed. Or connecting a client with dependable contractors after a purchase meant necessary home improvements. This is all a part of what I do and service Ryan Mahan provides. I provide service; please do not confuse what I do with sales.

A house is a house is a house but the real match making is fitting personalities with a house. A house has no spirit without people, laughter, or the natural song and pace of a human day. Being able to see a family or a couple mesh with a house is important — no worries, I don’t practice tarot cards. I recently visited this house for a client (not my listing) and felt a cabin-like quality with the full space and comfort a modern house provides, a unique combination. The home is located between Attitash and Cranmore skiing. Email Ryan@JtRealty.com with any questions and remember, we are more than the motions we go through.

Cheers

Creating Transactions and Friendships that Stick

Duncan & Diane wanted a weekend home in Mt. Washington Valley badly — a situation real estate consultants live for.  And Diane was not short on stamina as we scoured the web, drove through neighborhoods, and viewed homes with potential.  Not only that, Diane was quick with a tape measure to make certain room dimensions would accommodate her furnishing tastes.

We were having fun but several items thwarted initial purchases: a soured inspection and a lakeside cottage that needed considerable monies to winterize. The emotional roller coaster was deflating for Duncan & Diane and I reminded even myself at times, “A home purchase is a process and our timing will meet opportunity soon enough.” However, the summer screamed ahead and the possibilities felt like they were shrinking.

Alas, we found a three bedroom cottage close to Conway Lake that is ultra efficient and extremely well cared for. Duncan and Diane moved forward but more tense moments played out as we found ourselves in a multiple offer situation. After successful negotiations and counter offers, Duncan & Diane purchased the home.

In the end everything felt right: a place Diane thoroughly enjoyed and a home that wouldn’t require Duncan’s tools.  My daughter Maya, who joined us for several showings, grew quite fond of Diane who had even given her a tape measure of her own, “A girl’s best friend when house hunting.” Photo of Maya and Diane during morning coffee — sweet.

Buddies: Diane & Maya End of the Fall Season

"Is the show going on?" End of the Fall Season

End of the Fall Season

 

 

 

 

 

Conway Cottages Under $175,000 Click Here:

Unsure of How to Start Your Home Search? Contact Ryan@JtRealty.com

October & November Sales Under $175,000 Click Here:

 

 

The rain sounded on my tin roof all night bringing deep dreams of cascading waterfalls and pin-tight turns as “The River” snakes like a vein through Spruce stands and Cedar trees.

Although we have been blessed with large stretches of cloudless days, little paddling has taken place this summer as rainfall has been minimal and rocks show bare in riverbeds.

Not this morning. Today the river was strong.

Cold and Swfit

A flurry of phone calls to my paddling campaneros resulted in a canoe trip on the Upper Saco in Bartlett: above the trestle to put in and the River Street parking lot to take out.

My friend Eric, a boatman from the Allagash to the creeks of Colorado, paddled from the stern position and I from the bow. The beginning stretches allowed little time for conversation as we maneuvered through small seams and avoided armchair-size-boulders.

A standing curler wave obstructed our channel from the right side of the river. Eric turned our bow to run parallel as the downstream gunnel skirted by the wave and a cross stroke from the bow pulled us back into the main current. Beautifully executed; not one word was spoken.

Our canoe drifted in a slow pool, “Why don’t I live here, next to the river?” I exclaimed to no one in particular.

“You should,” responded Eric, “I mean, paddling, it’s what we do.”

Click for river located homes here

** Note: this popular section of river can be found in any AMC River Guide. Expect this section of river navigable in the summer only after several inches of rain and running swift and cold in April and May.

– Call for Ryan the Realtor for home purchase and recreation knowledge (603) 356-7200 ext. 13
Ryan@JTRealty.com

Pink and purple azaleas and yellow forsythia are blooming beautifully and vibrantly, and the leaves are that intense bright green that only appears right when they first pop out. Yes, Spring is here early and it is gorgeous. The good news is that the real estate market is also starting to look a little brighter.  Check out the statistics comparing the Mount Washington Valley year-to-date with the same time last year. *

The first half of 2009 was one of the worst times in our real estate market in 20 years, so we do need to take these numbers with a little bit of salt. I personally sold over 3 times as much real estate in the 2^nd half of 2009 than the 1^st half. That being said, things are really moving in a positive direction. Sales numbers are up, sales volume is up, prices are even up!  The only number moving in a negative direction is the days on market, showing properties taking longer to sell.

One thing to keep in mind before we get too giddy about these numbers is that the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit ended on April 30^th. This tax credit had really been a driving force in our market. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), first time homebuyers made up 47% of all transactions in 2009, and the average sale price for a  first time homebuyer was $156,000 nationwide.**  To qualify for the tax credit, these buyers had to put a home under contract by 4/30/10 and close by 6/30/10. In July we will begin to see what direction the real estate market is heading without government subsidies.

We will continue to closely monitor the real estate activity in order to ensure that you remain informed on current market conditions.

Joy

* Based on information from NNEREN for the periods 1/1/09-5/1/09 and 1/1/10-5/1/10 for the towns of Albany, Bartlett, Chatham, Conway, Eaton, Hales Location, Harts Location, Jackson, and Madison.

**http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2009/11/survey_record

— By Peter Francese

Here are three things New Hampshire REALTORS® can celebrate this spring:

• Home sales are up 13 percent, condo sales are up 30 percent, and prices are up over the first quarter of 2009;
• New Hampshire non-farm employment is rising: we’re only state in region to see an increase; and
• Our state still leads region in the key index of economic activity, and it is also rising

Not only are New Hampshire home sales up over the first quarter of last year, but median home prices have also risen 6 percent statewide and are up in seven of our state’s 10 counties. Condominium prices are also 4 percent above the first quarter of last year.

Half the counties in our state saw double digit home sales increase over last year, which suggests an awfully fast start for the year, no doubt aided by the homebuyer’s tax credit. But economic indicators in our state are so much better than other New England states that tax break or none, we are likely to fare better than they will in terms of home sales, unless we choose to follow their lead with expanded gambling.

New Hampshire’s unemployment rate was 7.1 percent in February (the latest numbers available), which was more than two points below the national rate and the second lowest in New England (Please see charts below). But the unemployment rate only looks at the small part of the picture.

The full part is measured by total non-farm employment, which in New Hampshire has been increasing since the middle of last year. Since then, 11,000 more people are working in our state, and we’re the only state in the region where that’s happening.

These indicators of New Hampshire’s economic health both point in the same direction. Our state is on track to lead New England out of this awful recession, and our real estate market is also likely to recover faster than other nearby states.

New Hampshire was again voted as the safest state in the nation, and we are still ranked fourth in terms of economic activity index. That index is also rising and is up almost three points since mid-2009. Again, we are the only New England state where that measure of our economic well-being has increased since then.

On nearly every measure of quality of life, as well as many other indicators, New Hampshire leads the nation and all other New England states. But our longstanding New Hampshire advantage is being threatened as never before by the rush to permit slots and casinos. To lose our substantial advantage would be an irreversible tragedy.

Here’s just one example: Property taxes per person in 2007 in Connecticut were $2,313.42, compared to $1,917.83 in New Hampshire (17 percent less than Connecticut), according to the Census Bureau. Adding lots of gambling venues certainly hasn’t done much to lower Connecticut’s property taxes.

The bottom line is this: Both demographic and economic trends are quite negative for the Southern New England states. Income taxes and sales taxes, along with slot machines and casino gambling, have not improved either their economy or their demography. Do we really want to do what they have done and go where they have gone?

Table I: New Hampshire unit sales and median price first quarter 2010

Ron Insana, author of “How to Make a Fortune From the Biggest Bailout in U.S. History”,  talks with the Today Show about why the time is right to recapture losses you may have incurred during the economic downturn of the past two years.  With a keen eye Insana suggests investors look to real estate as a great place to put money right now.  Looking at the New Hampshire real estate market, particularly here in Conway. I can’t help but agree with the advice.  Prices are down, and there are many great buys in the region.  Combine great low prices on homes and condos with the Homebuyer’s tax credit and the deal sweetens.

Right now we are offering tours of the best real estate deals in North Conway, Bartlett, Jackson and Western Maine.  If you are interested in seeing just how great some of these deals are call (603-356-7200) or drop us an email.  We will be happy to show you around!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The fireworks have fizzled, the champagne’s been drunk, and most of us are in the midst of the first 5 day work week in awhile. Let’s take a look at what happened to the real estate market in the Mount Washington Valley in 2009. Below is a chart of single family homes and condos in the valley.

As you can see, number of sales and sales volume are up, but prices continued to fall. 2008 was a pretty dismal year for real estate, so saying that number of sales and sold volume are up compared to it, is not really a big event.

But, at JtRealty Lakefront to Mountainside we aren’t exactly complaining … lower prices are helping to increase the number of sales by enticing buyers with great deals, but the market still has a long way to go before it fully recovers. New Hampshire Public Radio recently published some very interesting statistics, including the fact that foreclosures were up 30% for the month of November, compared to the same month in 2008. To read the full article about foreclosures and unemployment rates, click here.  The statistics and information available lead us to believe that it is still an upward battle to get back where we were in 2005 and 2006.

My conclusions:

1. If you want to sell, you will make up for it on the buying side. But if you don’t have to sell, holding on to your real estate for another 3-5 years might be your best option.
2. If you are a buyer, there are going to be plenty of great deals to be had in 2010. If you want to be the first to know about them click here to sign up for our automatic property alert, or check out JtRealty Lakefront to Mountainside best buys.

Here’s to a successful 2010!

PS – If you want further details on NH real estate statistics, check out the NH Association of Realtors website. It’s a great resource.

* Based on information from the Northern New England Real Estate Network for the period 1/1/08-12/31/08 and 1/1/09-12/31/09  for the towns of Albany, Bartlett, Brownfield, Chatham, Conway, Eaton, Fryeburg, Hales Location, Harts Location, Jackson and Madison