2017 was a record breaking year for New Hampshire real estate and real estate on Lake Winnipesaukee and in New Hampshire's Lakes Region were big factors in the overall trends. 2017 saw the largest number of New Hampshire home sales in history, buoyed by consumer confidence, continued low rates (with the Federal Reserve announcing multiple increases planned for 2018), and the exceptional quality of life New Hampshire, the Lakes Region, and Lake Winnipesaukee real estate offers.

People continue to be attracted to real estate in New Hampshire's Lakes Region; demand has increased from all types of buyers, including first time buyers, homeowners looking for more space, luxury home buyers, second home buyers, retirees, and investors. Demand for new construction is high. Because the Lakes Region is so famous for its many lakes and ponds, including Lake Winnipesaukee, the largest lake in New Hampshire, waterfront property for sale in New Hampshire and in the Lakes Region has also seen increased demand, resulting in increased prices and making it a great time to sell. Lakeside towns like Alton, Meredith, Moultonborough, and Wolfeboro, remain very popular. For this reason, and the Lakes Region's convenient access to larger cities like Manchester, New Hampshire, Boston, Massachusetts, and points in the tri-state area of New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey, the Lakes Region of New Hampshire has continued to remain both a popular vacation destination and a desirable place to buy a home in New Hampshire.

Below is a collection of data points and real estate trends for New Hampshire's Lakes Region that are useful for both buying and selling a home in the Lakes Region. If you're interested in buying real estate in New Hampshire or learning more about the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, you can also click on the links below to browse available and recently sold Lakes Region real estate.

• View recently listed Lake Winnipesaukee real estate. 
• View recently sold Lakes Region real estate.
• Search all Lake Winnipesaukee property for sale.

Contact Nicole Watkins to learn more about Lake Winnipesaukee real estate and the Lakes Region, or if you're interesting in buying or selling a lake home in New Hampshire.

2017 Real Estate Trends

2017 saw a continuation of many of the recent Lakes Region real estate trends, including increasingly limited inventory and demographic changes putting pressure on the New Hampshire real estate market. Trends included:

• Real estate in New Hampshire's Lakes Region is continuing to boom, experiencing high demand across all property types, especially Lakes Region real estate under $750,000 and waterfront homes for sale on Lake Winnipesaukee and in the greater Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Several factors such as low interest rates, high quality of life, and low gas prices have made the Lakes Region even more appealing to many, from first time buyers to retirees to families and investors looking to buy a second home.
• Overall residential real estate in New Hampshire's Lakes Region continues to be tight though several new construction projects wrapped up this year causing more luxury real estate in the Lakes Region to go onto the market than we've seen in recent years when new construction was slow to resume.
• Lakes Region homes in the $200,000 to $300,000 range continue to sell extremely quickly and receive multiple offers. Homes for sale under $300,000 in the Lakes Region are selling in a few days in most cases.
• Single family homes for sale in the Lakes Region are the primary type of Lakes Region real estate, accounting for over three-quarters of total units.
• Lakes Region homes are not as old as other regions in New Hampshire, but with the average age of a Lakes Region home for sale being over forty years (1978 is the median year built), there is high demand for new construction on Lake Winnipesaukee and in the surrounding Lakes Region New Hampshire towns.
• Household incomes are projected to rise in the Lakes Region, indicating potential opportunities to buy up.
• There is a lot of vacancy in Lakes Region homes, but it is largely due to seasonal vacancy and does not indicate a surplus of housing inventory. About 85% of Belknap County vacant homes are seasonally vacant.
• Only about a quarter of homes in the Lakes Region are rented as opposed to owned. Most vacation properties in the Lakes Region are seasonally occupied.
• The population over the age of 55 is projected to grow significantly in New Hampshire's Lakes Region, mirroring overall trends in the state and in New England, which will put increased pressure on the housing market and increase demand for age-appropriate housing such as single level, smaller footprint retirement homes, and waterfront homes with easy access. In addition, demand will increase for condos for sale in the Lakes Region, as well as apartments for sale in the Lakes Region. Empty nesters will look for walkability to local shops and amenities, benefiting the communities that offer those lifestyles.
• It is also expected that many of the people who have rented Lakes Region properties for years and are ready to retire will look to purchase Lakes Region retirement homes as opposed to continuing to rent homes seasonally.
• Additionally, older individuals with the ability to invest have increasingly been looking for multifamily homes where they can live and earn rental income.
• Housing values are projected to increase in the Lakes Region over the next five years. Most of the growth will be in homes under $750,000. The median housing value in the Lakes Region is expected to increase by double digits over the next five years, making Lake Winnipesaukee real estate a good choice for investing in real estate in New Hampshire. The number of housing units is expected to remain relatively flat, though new construction has increased in some areas.
• There is very limited inventory in the Lakes Region, which is resulting in rising prices and making it difficult for many to stay in the area and "move up" as they need more space. Putting additional pressure on the inventory limitations is the fact that young families and professionals are often competing with older couples from out of the area looking to buy a second home in the Lakes Region or to downsize. 
• The Lake Winnipesaukee luxury home market has also been booming, though the market has slowed a bit from last year.
• According to realtor.com, the pace of sales for U.S. luxury homes weakened slightly in 2017 with the overall housing market outperforming the still-strong upper tier. The entry price point for the luxury market – defined as the top 5 percent of transactions based on sales price – rose by 5.1 percent in 2017, compared to a 6.9 percent overall housing market price gain. However, luxury properties also took 5.4 percent longer to sell in 2017 than they did in 2016, spending 116 days on market on average.
• The Lakes Region has largely mirrored these National trends, though some towns on Lake Winnipesaukee are continuing to see double digit increases in the median price for homes, outpacing National trends. It is expected that real estate activity will pick up in the upcoming spring market as luxury home buyers better understand how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will affect them and their real estate decisions.
• In all, 2017 was another strong year for the luxury housing market, as well as all Lakes Region real estate.