DID THE PANDEMIC CREATE AN UNHEALTHY DEMAND

I have never seen a frenzie for waterfront buyers like I have seen in this real estate market. New Hampshire has for the last few years had low inventory. The change is that the Pandemic has created a demand. 

What's good for a seller is so tough for the buyers. And buyers are buying properties sight unseen, paying way over asking, waiving inspections or putting huge concessions on appraisals. Not necessarily the best for the buyer really.

MIGRATION IS FOR MORE THAN JUST THE BIRDS

We can talk about the migration trends. Are people flocking here like the birds in Spring. Or are they here to stay. Sellers think everyone from NYC are moving here. Or even Boston because they can now ZOOM up and work from a new home outside of the city. In reality the migration is real in every metropolitan area but really to the surrounding burbs. Manhattanites have moved to Brooklyn or their place in the Hamptons or Jersey City and Florida. That migration actually isn't the case so much.

I am seeing more buyers from Connecticut, New Jersey and Rhode Island and always from the Boston Area. 20 years ago, I moved here from Boston after living in Manhattan and CT for the same reasons people are coming here now. It was right after 911. I needed a life change then--but then my business at the time did not require me going into an office as I was a designer working from home. I also didn't need to be paying over $2,000 per month plus parking in rent. I bought my shack on a lake for $144k—way cheaper than rent-though I discovered what “seasonal” meant when I moved in on a day in January. It just is not too comfortable with single paned widows and little to no insulation. I had two pair of rose colored glasses on—however I also knew how to use a hammer. Apparently not any electrical tools as in the first week I blew out my computer TV and answering machine not following all the directions from my Home Depot Renovation Book.

I believe the pandemic has fast forwarded a trend that was happening already. People wanting more space. Home offices. and everything delivered. Have you seen the Malls--they are empty.

I have heard that 50% of the workers in Boston are simply not going back to an office. In the same respect I have heard that 4 Million people in this country last month have chosen simply not work at all. Not sure how that works--really for anyone or any business. I see so many signs everywhere looking for workers, with signing bonuses and way higher than minimum wage.

The frenzie I am seeing are really those who have money looking for a place they can reconnect with nature. That is what a waterfront has always been about. Most of the buyers I see are still buying a waterfront home for a second home and increasingly for a second income with hopes of gaining the VRBO or AirBNB world. I saw a 525k average house on a small average lake go for 680k in an area that never saw these kind of prices. There were at least 60 showings every 15 minutes, everyone wearing masks, and at least 23 offers mostly cash which meant there were 22 buyers going on to the next one. It did have $39,000 in rental income already in place for the summer. Amazing.

I caution buyers to think about what they are buying and the true value of it for renters to want to rent. Just like in Real Estate, Location Location Location. Turnkey is Key. And now you may need to contend with neighbors and towns restricting it.

So how long will this frenzie last? For me I see the demand staying in place. Again I am mostly talking waterfront homes. You can see on WaterfrontAgent.com in the section on "New Listings This Week" or plug in www.NewWatefrontForSale.com and see properties already pending within days.

In the end it is always worth living on the water.