This was a really great week, if you like snow. Driving into Laconia on the day of the most recent of one too many snowstorms was like sledding into an Eskimo Village above the arctic circle. The main differences were that I didn’t see any polar bears lurking nearby, our igloos have flat or peaked roofs rather than round, and plow trucks were the only thing moving instead of sled dog teams....

Ok, it’s colder than holy bejezus outside and the snow is well over the roof of a Mini Cooper. Welcome to the Lakes Region in January. This kind of weather really makes you think about energy costs especially if the oil truck just stays parked in your driveway all day. If you feel a draft coming from around your windows or doors , if your furnace rumbles and bangs every time it starts, or...

There were 59 homes sold at an average price of $369,112 during the month of December in the communities in this Lakes Region report. That’s down some from the 68 sold in December 2009, but the average price is up considerably from $290,008. As usual, more than 50% of the sales were below the $200,000 mark with five waterfront sales over the $1 million mark helping to lift...

There were five waterfront homes sold on Squam Lake in 2010 at an average sales price of $2,029,000. They were on the market an average of 323 days before finding a buyer which is really not all that long in this market. While having just five transactions on the lake for the whole year is not something to get real excited about, it is far better than just the two transactions that we had...

December 2010 turned out to be a very strong month for waterfront sales on Winnipesaukee with nine waterfront propertiesexchanging hands compared to just four last December. The average sales price came in at $1,306,044 which is up just slightly compared to $1,288,750 last December. All nine sales were mainland properties which really isn’t surprising as it is a bit difficult looking...

As of January 1, 2011 there were 940 homes on the market in the communities in this Lakes Region real estate report. That’s down from the 1070 homes on the market last month, but up from the 869 homes on the market as of January 1, 2010. While the total number of homes on the market is currently higher than last year, we have had an increase in the number of sales. That effectively drops the supply...

Every now and then, just by chance, you discover something new, special, and unexpected about the Lakes Region. This month, I discovered the Chamberlain-Reynolds Memorial Forest. It is really a special place and I bet most area residents have never ventured there.

I have a home for sale on Dog Cove on Squam Lake and thought I would try to get a picture of the home from the...

By Roy Sanborn, Roche Realty Group

It's coming down to the end of another year, so I started thinking. What do you suppose would happen if Dick Clark was counting down the New Year’s ball in Times Square; “10…9…8…7…6…” and it just stopped? The ball doesn’t drop. The New Year, quite unexpectedly, just doesn’t happen. Do you think people might get a little upset? After all, there are a lot of people...

November in the Lakes Region turned cold and the residential home sales turned a little cold, too! But not frigid. There were 63 homes sold in the towns in this report at an average price of $365,623 compared to 72 last November at an average of $411,124. Most of the sales, 54%, continue to be under the $200,000 mark. On a rolling twelve month basis ending 11/30/10 we have had 782 home sales...

Buuurrr! It’s getting cold. There were ten sales in November of 2010 on Lake Winnibuuurrsaukee at an average price of $1.55 million and a median price of $1.645 million. The old lake is pretty consistent as there were 10 sales last November although the average was a little higher at $1.835 million and the median was just $925,000. What’s that mean? She’s consistent and cold (you just thought of your...

As of December 1 there were 1074 residential homes available in the Lakes Region towns covered in this report. The current total is down about 100 units from last month, but up 30 units from last December 1 and represents a 16.5 month inventory supply. The average asking price stood at $548,593 and the median price was $279,900. Just about 30% of the current inventory is under the $200,000, 30% over $400,000, and 60% in the mid-price ranges.

It’s the holiday shopping season so I thought...

OK, so the holiday shopping season starts off with Black Friday and now we have Cyber-Monday to boot! Crazy people are up at 4 a.m. running around the stores in the Lakes Region trying to find that special item to buy before they are all gone. I’m not sure which are the hottest items but I am sure there will be plenty of iPods, iPads, iPhones, flat screens, Xboxes, Wiis, Kindles (and some candles), Nooks,...

There were 68 residential home sales for the month of October in the communities in this Lakes Region market report. That is down a bit from the 73 posted last October. The average sales price was up significantly from the $271,339 last October to the $395,012 last month. This increase in the average sales price is due to a large waterfront sale rather than any surge in overall home pricing. On a rolling twelve month basis ending 10/31/10 there have been 791 homes sold at an average of $319,297...

The number of waterfront sales on Lake Winnipesaukee continued to improve over last year with eleven sales in October at an average sale price of $1.464 million compared to seven last October at an average price of $1.856 million. The total number of sales this year on the big lake stands at 77 with an average price of $1.214 million compared to 64 for the same period last year at an average of $1.36 million. Total sales are up about 20% over last year and the average price is up 17%. Not too bad...

The inventory level of homes for sale in the Lakes Region dropped just a bit in November. We are down from the 1244 homes available to 1178 as of November 1 with and average asking price of $559,403 and a median price of $284,450. That compares to 1146 homes on the market last November at an average asking price of $587,664 and a median price of $299,900. In November 2008 there were 1218 homes on the market at an average of $536,037 and a median of $299,000. The current inventory level represents...