Wealthy out-of-state buyers push up price of NH’s lake properties
Land market value has increased by more than $6 million since last summer
Interest in lakefront and lake access land lots is pushing up prices this winter, according to a quarterly report by Lakes Homes Realty.
The value of New Hampshire’s largest land markets has increased by more than $6 million or by 8.58% from summer 2020, according to the national listings website.
The organization’s CEO, Glenn Phillips, said he expects “winter and spring of 2021 will slightly exceed winter and spring of 2020, PROVIDED there are enough appropriately priced homes for buyers to purchase (which is a severe problem in most areas of the country),” and particularly true for New Hampshire.
Seventy-nine percent of potential buyers are from outside New Hampshire. The most searches for New Hampshire lake property came from the wealthy New York metro area.
Filling out the top 10 for showing most interest in New Hampshire lake properties are: Hartford-Haven, Conn.; Portland-Auburn, Maine; Providence, R.I.-New Bedford, Mass.; Burlington, VT-Plattsburgh, NY; Springfield-Holyoke, Mass.; Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY; Philadelphia, Penn.; Washington, DC-Hagerstown, MD; Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, FL.
Most lake properties for sale are in the lower price range, with 225 having a listing price of up to $250,000 and 338 ranging from $250,000 to $500,000, according to November 2020 figures, though there are 123 properties listed above $1 million and $2 million.
Unsurprisingly the largest market is Lake Winnipesaukee, with one-third of home sales and 36.6% of land sales. Lake Winnipesaukee is home to the most expensive land per acre, at $149,567 for listings of less than 10 acres and notably the most million-dollar listings.
Opechee Bay Reservoir, Mascoma Lake in Enfield and Lebanon and Locke Lake in Barnstead are listed as containing the most affordable homes, ranging from $225,000 to $283,000.
Lower Mountain Lake in Grafton County, Eastman Pond in Sullivan and Grafton counties and Newfound Lake in Grafton County have the most affordable land per acre listings, ranging from $24,000 to $34,000 for listings with less than 10 acres.
Phillips said lenders are growing increasingly cautious, driven by Covid-driven business failures, corresponding unemployment and private debt, but “lake home buyers often pay cash, so mortgage availability has little-to-no-impact.”
That is reflected in the profile of the average New Hampshire lake property buyer, with more than half of buyers, 52%, 55 and older and 20% of potential buyers in the 45 to 54 age range.
