New Hampshire Association of REALTORS 2010 President

New Hampshire Association of REALTORS 2010 President Monika McGillicuddy

I’ve been a little neglectful of my blog as I’m sure some of you have noticed. My life has been a little hectic lately and more than just real estate wise but it’s all in a good way. The real estate market has picked up especially in the 1st time home buying arena but I’ve also been busy in the REALTOR Association level.  Many of you know that both Jay and I are involved REALTORS and have been for many years. For us being a REALTOR is much more than simply a means to making money.  We’ve always believed that the way to make a difference is to be involved and that sitting on the side lines complaining does nothing to make things better.  So we both have taken an active role not only in advocacy for buyers, sellers and fellow REALTORS but also in protecting private property rights for all NH home owners. That involvement has paid off in more ways than we could ever have imagined.

Monika McGillicuddy installed as NHAR 2010 President

This past September 21st I was installed as the 2010 President of the New Hampshire Association of REALTORS with Jay, my parents and children by my side. It was a special night for me as many of my REALTOR friends, fellow REALTORS from my office Prudential Verani and about 100 colleagues from all over New Hampshire attended the banquet.

2010 will prove to be a year “On the Rise”

I look forward to helping lead NH REALTORS in the year 2010, as together, we face challenges that are yet to be defined. One thing I feel pretty sure of is the fact that our real estate market will continue to improve and while I’m sure things will still be challenging we are definitively ” On the Rise”  2010 will be a better year for many.

Never too busy for you

While my duties as President will keep me busy at times, I still need all of you. Listing and selling real estate in southern NH is what I do day in and day out. Your referrals and continued support is very important to me and I will never be too busy for you. So remember if you or any one you know is in need of real estate service give us a call.  Jay and I would be honored!

My Installation was held on Monday September 21 2009 at the Grand Summit Hotel and Resort in Bartlett New Hampshire. I was installed by my husband and past 2004 NHAR president Jay McGillicuddy.

Monika and Jay McGillicuddy, REALTORS

603-548-7728

Some good news to share

New Hampshire home sales jump 6% in July

A New Hampshire Association of REALTORS recent press release gave us all some good real estate news as statewide residential home sales increased for the second consecutive month!  Sales data showed that residential home sales are up 6% in July 2009 as opposed to July 2008 and it further noted that it is the 1st time we’ve had consecutive increases in sales since 2005.

Home Inventory is down

At the end of January 2009 there was a solid 22 months supply of homes on the market statewide, July went out with just under 11 months worth of inventory.  A balanced market is usually 6-8 months.  Nationally the pending home sale index has shown five  consecutive months of gains. Something we haven’t seen in six years! All good news and good reason for being optimistic about the New Hampshire real estate market.

Locally even Hampstead and Atkinson have shown improvement

Year to date is Residential sales only. Rockingham County as a whole has not fared as well as Hampstead and Atkinson, showing a slight decrease over July 2008.

Median Sales Price still declining

Except Hampstead which actually had a slight increase interestingly enough

Market time is way down in Rockingham County

Average Days on the market has in most cases decreased dramatically.  Hampstead is down 27% and Atkinson down 58%. That is very good news!

Don’t forget the $8,000 dollar 1st time home buyer tax credit.

1st time home buyer mans that you CAN NOT have owned a home in the last THREE years. To qualify for the tax credit you need to close on your new home no later than on or before the last day in November. Usually it takes 6-8 weeks to close on a home, which means a buyer has about a month of opportunity left!

Don’t waste any time or you might blow this great opportunity

It is doubtful that this tax credit will be extended so if you are a 1st time home buyer wanting to take advantage of this opportunity don’t hesitate. Give me a call at 603-548-7728 or e-mail me at monika@monikamcgillicuddydotcom for more information. I would love to help you find that perfect home.
If you are a home owner curious if now is the time to list your Southern NH home or just want to chat real estate…give us a call. As always no obligation- no pressure just good solid real estate advice.

Jay and Monika McGillicuddy, REALTORS

New Hampshire Real Estate Blog

Graphics curtesy of the New Hampsire Association of REALTORS

$8,000Tax Credit news and Google Scraping…what a week it was

Jay and I just got back home after a busy week in Washington DC where we attended the annual REALTOR midyear conference. It was a jam packed week for me as I pulled double duty, not only did I attend because it is something that I have done for many years and find of tremendous value but also because I am President Elect of the New Hampshire Association of REALTORS.

The week was full of educational sessions, business meetings and hill visits, some of which I needed to attend to fulfill my duties as President Elect but also many sessions that I wanted to attend because doing so benefited my business and added to my knowledge base.

About 8,500 REALTORS from all over the country attended the conference and it was also a great opportunity for us to connect up with many of our  Blogger and Twitter friends from around the country.

The midyear meeting this year held the first  Real Estate Summit: Advancing the U.S. Economy, which was a special day long session and one of the real interesting things that happened during the summit was that Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, announced Federal Housing Administration is going to permit its lenders to allow homeowners (I’m assuming they mean home buyers) to use the $8,000 tax credit as a down payment. That really shook up the crowd of at least a few thousand REALTORS attending the summit meeting.  Using the tax credit as part of closing costs will make a huge  difference to many buyers and I was pretty excited to hear him say that!

You can read the official report/summery at REALTOR.org Updated…there may be some flip flopping going on about whether or not one can use the 8k as down payment.  Stay tuned as I am sure there will be some breaking news on it soon. Updated…Using the tax credit as down payment is now officially off the table.

One other event that really meant a lot to us personally involved a REALTOR/MLS IDX issue that we first heard about when Paula Henry a fellow real estate blogger wrote about her site being targeted because of a so called “google scraping” charge levied against her by her board of  REALTORS.   So,  Paula Henry and fellow Blogger Jay Thompson, flew in to address the MLS committee in DC regarding Google being considered a scraping site.

Paula  talked about the interpretation of the antiquated MLS rule impacting her life and business and Jay spoke passionately on behalf of all real estate bloggers everywhere and more importantly the impact that this rule will have on sellers and buyers! It looked like a viable compromise was reached with the full support of the MLS committee to be presented to the NAR board of directors for final vote on Saturday.   As real estate bloggers this is something that will effect us and our sellers so we were very happy with the outcome of the MLS meeting.

Because I am President Elect of the New Hampshire Association I also serve as an NAR director and my vote would count…or so I thought.

Ultimately a director  of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Board of Realtors (MIBOR) made a motion to table or send the changes back to the MLS Committee for further study. Once a motion is made “To Table” there is no further discussion on the issue. The vote was close but ultimately it was sent back. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the Blogosphere and what comes forward in November when The NAR Board of Directors meet again.

You can read more on the REALTOR.org Blog

Did I say it’s nice to be home?

It is nice to be home and if any of you are ready to take advantage of that $8,000 tax credit/down payment please  give me a call I’d love to help you find a home.

NH Home Buyers Fair 2009

Yesterday was the 7th annual NH home buyers fair and I was asked to speak representing the New Hampshire Association of REALTORS.

My topic was… Is it a good time to buy and the essentials of buying your first home.

I was on first thing in the morning and had 52 people sit through the presentation.  Many NH REALTORS, mortgage companies, home inspectors and other folks in real estate related professions had booths.

The New Hampshire Association of REALTORS also had a booth and gave out some excellent handouts.

The fair was put on by the folks from the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority.

I’m not sure how many people attended the event in total but it looked pretty busy when I left at noon time.

I am sure however that many NH home buyers got some excellent advice and buying tips.

If you are a New Hampshire home buyer and have questions about the process or want to work with a REALTOR who can help you, give me a call at 603-548-7728.

Monika McGillicuddy, REALTOR

Prudential Verani Realty

Rockingham County Real Estate Market …A trip through the Years

Recently I had an opportunity to be on NHPR (New Hampshire Public Radio) talking about the real estate market and my feelings as to where the market is headed. They called upon me mainly because I am the New Hampshire Association of REALTORS 2009 President-Elect. The program was all about the state of our economy and the real estate market/crisis in particular.  The show I was on is called The Exchange and Laura Knoy was the host.

While I wasn’t on a terribly long time I was, I hope, able to communicate some crucial information. You can listen to the show here.

There is no doubt that January saw a major market stall as many people put home buying on hold in anticipation of what President Obama would do once he took office.  Early February saw some mass confusion due to the up and down real estate stimulus package potential of a $15,000 tax credit.  Some buyers moved forward in anticipation by making offers contingent upon the 15,000 tax credit becoming a reality.

Of course we all know that did not happen.

The reality is that people buy homes not sticks and bricks, they buy lifestyles, they buy a dream and while everyone wants their home to appreciate in value, it’s important to remember that long term real estate is an excellent investment.

Are we at the bottom? I really don’t know but I do know that investors have stopped looking and have started buying! Which tells a very important story.  If  you’re a buyer “On the Fence” don’t let this opportunity slip by you.  It would be pretty sad to look in the rear view mirror someday soon and kick yourself for missing this opportunity.

The last week of  February in our Londonderry office alone, we had 24 homes go pending in one week alone.

That’s a lot of homes and to me that speaks volumes.

The chart below shows a 10 year history of the Rockingham County real estate market.

Year	Units sold	% change	Median price	% change 2	DOM	% change
1998	4,112	N/A	$153,200	N/A	123	N/A
1999	4,228	2.8	$169,900	10.9	83	-33
2000	3,896	-7.9	$200,000	17.7	77	-7
2001	3,662	-6	$237,850	18.9	69	-10
2002	3,797	3.7	$264,900	11.4	72	4
2003	3,551	-6.5	$285,400	7.7	75	4
2004	3,889	9.5	$314,373	10.2	75	0
2005	3,458	-11.1	$337,500	7.4	81	8
2006	2,628	-24	$330,000	-2.2	112	38
2007	2,576	-2	$316,000	-4.2	132	18
2008	2,286	-11.3	$285,000	-9.8	135	2

Mount Washington Hotel and Resort

We arrived at the Mount Washington Hotel about an hour ago and Jay is already on the golf course.

Even surrounded by fog this place is lovely. Our REALTOR convention begins tonight and tomorrow night I get sworn in as the 2009 President Elect. I’m pretty excited about that and the fact that I am presenting a session on Blogging and Social Networking. ‘

The next three days will be busy but well worth the time spent. You can never get too much education…never close the book on learning and really that is what this convention is all about.

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