The coronavirus pandemic has sparked a mini-land rush in many areas of New Hampshire, as out-of-state residents seek to escape crowded urban areas in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York for more rustic settings where people can both relax and still work remotely. 

Single-family home sale prices in New Hampshire rose by 7.1 percent to $300,000 during the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2019, according to the Warren Group, the real estate data firm that publishes the Registry Review. The median sale price for condominiums shot up by an astounding 16.3 percent, to $235,000 during the same time period, according to data. 

Real estate agents say activity remained intense through July and they don’t see any let-up for the rest of the summer. 

“We’re slammed up here, just slammed,” said Randy Parker, owner of Maxfield Real Estate in Wolfeboro, located along Lake Winnipesaukee in Carroll County. “People want land and they want space and they want it right away.” 

He noted that waterfront homes are selling for $1.5 million in a matter of days, rather than weeks, while off-water homes in the $500,000 range are getting snapped up in weeks, rather than months.  

“Meanwhile, homes under $300,000 are gone within a week,” said Parker. 

It’s not just out-of-state homebuyers escaping the pandemic. High-end renters are also surging into the Lakes Region, such as a New York woman who agreed to pay $10,000 a week for ten weeks for a lakefront home on Winnipesaukee, where she planned to host her adult children and grandkids for the summer, Parker said. 

“We’ve been very busy,” said Dave Smith, owner of Harbor Light Realty in Sunapee, home to the popular Lake Sunapee and Mount Sunapee in Sullivan County. “People are looking to come to New Hampshire to feel safer.”  

Sunapee’s lakefront homes are going for $1.2 million and up, while off-water homes with lake access are going for $700,000, said Smith. 

Tight Inventory Continues 

One thing hasn’t changed this year: Inventory is as tight as ever across the state.  

“There’s less inventory than buyers, that’s for sure,” said Smith “It’s a seller’s market. If someone was thinking of a selling home, they’re selling it now. It’s a good time.” 

The lack of inventory has contributed to a sharp decline in overall sales in New Hampshire, with single-family homes sales down by 20.6 percent, to 5,539 sold homes, in the first half of the year. Condo sales plunged by nearly 18 percent, to 2,031 units sold, during the same time period, according Warren Group data. 

The lack of supply combined with especially strong demand is leading to multiple offers on homes and final sale prices routinely over original asking prices, real estate agents say. And it’s also leading to people increasingly buying vacant land, in hopes of building get-away homes one day, real estate agents say. 

Jason Starr, owner of Keller Williams Lakes and Mountain Realty in Gilford, also along Lake Winnipesaukee in Belknap County, said it’s hard to quantify exactly how much the coronavirus pandemic has contributed to the surge in demand for vacation homes. 

Before the pandemic, demand was already high, with the economy going strong and interest rates at historic lows, he noted. It could be that the onset of COVID-19 merely accelerated the plans of some people to buy property in the region – thus creating a “frenzy of activity.” 

“It’s just crazy right now,” said Starr, noting that a three-bedroom property on nearby Lake Winnisquam recently sold for $1.32 million, $200,000 above the asking price, in just three days. “We’re seeing the most overbids and multiple offers I’ve seen in 20 years.” 

Good Internet Service Key 

Besides people trying to escape the pandemic, agents say many would-be homebuyers are only now realizing they can remotely work from rustic settings, as long as an area has good broadband internet service. 

“It’s about escaping COVID-19, but it’s also about people being able to keep working remotely,” said Paul Wheeler of RE/MAX Presidential in North Conway, in the Mount Washington Valley area. “I’m talking to buyers every day and they’re saying it’s about getting away and still working.” 

Wheeler said he knows of some people who own a second home in the Mount Washington Valley and who came up to New Hampshire in March, when the pandemic first broke out in the United States, and they haven’t left since.  

He noted that condos have become popular purchases. One three bed-room condo in Bartlett, near the Attitash Ski Area, was listed on a Wednesday and, by the next day, five showings had been lined up for the weekend, Wheeler said. 

Much of the real estate surge is occurring in popular vacation areas around the state, but industry officials say they’re seeing strong out-of-state interest in southern counties as well. 

In Hillsborough County, along the Massachusetts border in southern New Hampshire, median single-family home and condo prices rose by about 10 percent during the first six months of the year, compared to 2019, according to Warren Group data. 

Stephan Morrissey, a broker at Allison James Estates & Homes in Nashua, said he’s constantly fielding inquiries about the quality of broadband service in the Nashua area. “High-speed internet is a big selling point,” he said.  

Entry-level single-family homes, in the $275,000 to $350,000 range, are “getting snapped up in a weekend,” said Morrissey. “It’s going crazy right now.”