Spring is coming. Nascar has fired up its engines, the sweet smell of racing fuel and burning rubber is in the air, and as the frost heaves recede gear heads begin to think about getting their prized street rod or motorcycle on the road. It’s a time when many men dream about a Garage Mahal.

The fact is, put simply, men like (1) garages and (2) basements. You can’t generally...

Sales of residential homes in the Lakes Region were surprisingly strong in February with fifty transactions compared to just thirty four last February. Given the fact that we were up to our eyeballs in snow in January, that is pretty remarkable to me. The average sales price came in at just $216,920 compared to $279,480 last February. That drop is due to the fact that we had no sales over $1 million last month but had two last February. As usual, just about half the sales recorded were under $200,000....

February was a pretty good month for waterfront home sales on Lake Winnipesaukee with six propertiessold at an average price of $467,667. The monthly sales average was low because there were no million dollar sales last month. Last February there were only three sales on the lake, and two of the three sales were over the $1 million mark so the average was considerably higher at $1.248 million.

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There were 957 homes for sale at an average asking price of $552,033 in the towns listed in this Lakes Region real estate market report as of March 1, 2010. That is slightly lower than the 993 homes available last March which had an average price of $583,496. The current level of inventory represents a 12 month supply of homes on the market.



It’s no secret that mortgage giant Fannie Mae...

Residential home sales in the Lakes Region are off to a bit of a slow start in 2011 with only 37 sales posted in the towns in this report. That’s 16% off the total of 44 sales posted last January but one month doesn’t make a trend…at least I hope. The average sales price was also down from $377,781 last January to $305,926. This January, as well as last, 50% of the sales were below the $200,000 mark, but last January there were four sales over $1 million and this January there was only one, hence...

Selling a home today can be a very difficult, time consuming, and frustrating process for owners and real estate agents.

It's almost like no one knows what to do next to help you get your property sold. Many agents want you to reduce your price to get someone to look at your home.

Maybe there is another way? Maybe your home just isn't seen on the internet...

It’s the time of year when there is actually a lot of activity on Lake Winnipesaukee. The Town of Meredith just hosted another highly successfully Pond Hockey Classic with 152 teams playing on 14 rinks out on the bay. Snow machines are whizzing by and bobhouses are sprouting up all over the lake as ice fisherman claim their favorite fishing spot for the 32nd annual Rotary Fishing Derby this...

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...