So. NH Infomercial

We live in Southern NH, where Sandy has a thriving Real Estate business.  I work in Boston and have a hellacious commute on days where there is even the smallest of drizzle in the air.  My wife is born and raised in Southern New Hampshire and I grew up on the North Shore in Massachusetts.  We have two daughters; one engaged and the other coming up on her last year (hopefully) of college.  We’re basically empty-nesters.   So I broached the subject of moving to Massachusetts over dinner one night. 

I would love nothing more than living in downtown Boston.  I would sell my large house in NH and buy a small condo in Boston.  I love the energy of the city, the selection of restaurants, the arts, the harbor views, the Charles River, the Celtics, Bruins and Sox.  Going back and forth to work would be a breeze. 

Sandy, of course, was adamant about not moving.  She loves NH.  It’s easier to navigate, has no income tax or sales tax, yada … yada.  Her Real Estate market and business relationships are here in NH.  It would take a long time to rebuild elsewhere and she would essentially be starting over.

So let the negotiating begin.  I’m sensitive to Sandy’s business and clients in NH, so I need to be somewhere in between.  Real Estate prices are surprisingly just a little bit higher in Massachusetts than Southern NH once you are 15 miles outside the city.  Maybe we could move to North Andover where we first lived together after getting married.  But I realized even before Sandy has to say it that it was far enough outside the city that it would still take me an hour plus at rush hour.  You need to be within 12 miles of the city to really make a difference and get under an hour commute at rush hour.

So Sandy gave me a half-hour infomercial on why we should stay in Southern New Hampshire, more specifically the greater Manchester and Nashua area.  Here are some of the most valid points she sold me on:

·         So. NH is only an hour from the city in off hours for dining, arts, sports, etc.

·         It’s 50 minutes from the ocean

·         It’s an hour and a half from the White Mountains for skiing and snowboarding

·         So. NH is basically a suburb of Massachusetts with over 50% of the population originally from south of the border.

Many people I work with in Boston think that all NH is cow-country or that I must live in the mountains.  The truth is 53% of the population of NH lives in Hillsborough or Rockingham counties that border Mass.  I will admit that as you get north of Concord it can be very rural but south of Manchester I find it very much like Massachusetts.  The NH economy is fairly strong with big employers like Fidelity Investments, BAE Systems, Budweiser Brewery, Eliot Hospital, Comcast, Verizon Communications, and Catholic Medical Center.  Five years running, CQ Press has named NH the Most Livable State .

While only being an hour away from major Boston Sports teams, NH has minor league teams that are a much better value for anyone with a young family.  The Manchester Monarchs  led the way into the market as an affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings.  A 10-year history has had them advance to the Calder Cup playoffs nine times.  The NH Fisher Cats , a Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, have since built a stadium along the Merrimack River and draw strong crowds.  The Verizon Wireless Arena has a great concert schedule each year; past concerts have included Aerosmith, Elton John and Justin Timberlake, just to name a few.  The Currier Art Museum in Manchester recently went through a large expansion and has works from world famous artists such as Pablo Picasso and Claude Monet.

Although most chain stores do not send their fashion forward lines to their NH locations, we do have high hopes for the Simon Properties $100-million project that will bring 135 stores via the Merrimack Premium Outlets to NH in June.  This outlet will have no sales tax and join The Pheasant Lane Mall, The Mall of NH and the Rockingham Mall in serving the market.  Many Massachusetts shoppers come to NH to save on sales tax.

Fine dining has really grown in NH also.   Just a few years ago, if you wanted an elegant dinner you would go to the Bedford Village Inn (still great today) or head into Boston for a “foodie” experience.  I think Chef Michael Buckley changed the restaurant landscape first in Nashua with Michael Timothy’s Urban Bistro (now renamed MT Local), followed by The Surf.  Our current favorite is Restaurant Tek.Nique   in Bedford, NH.

So, needless to say, we will not be moving.  It’s not so much that one area is better or worse than the other.  It’s more the husband and wife thing; the wife always wins.  The cost of living combined with the quality of life make NH a good match for us …. For now.

So help me out.  What are the best parts about living in Massachusetts?

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Sandy LeRette – REALTOR® ABR – Better Homes & Garden Real Estate / The Masiello Group – 436 Amherst Street, Nashua, NH  03063  cell: (603) 661-7301 email: slerette@masiello.com

Bob LeRette – Div. Sales Manager/ Real Estate – Boston.com & The Boston Globe,  617-929-2104 email:  rlerette@boston.com   & REALTOR® - Better Homes & Garden Real Estate / The Masiello Group – 436 Amherst Street, Nashua, NH  03063

Blame the Weather

The weather in New England always gets blamed for everything bad that happens.  “Traffic was bad due to the weather.”  “No one came to the Open House due to the weather.”  “Business is off due to the weather.”

For the winter of 2011/2012, we all need to take back all the bad things we’ve said in the past.  The fact of the matter is that the weather this year has been good for the Real Estate market in New England and many buyers and sellers took advantage of the mild weather – so far.  Visitor at Open Houses haven’t needed to trudge up snowy or icy walkways, and as Real Estate Agents, it’s nice to not have to climb a snow bank to put in an Open House sign.  Although, with the frozen ground, I have tied Open House signs to sign posts.

According to Northern New England Real Estate Network (NNEREN.com) statistics for January 2012, New Hampshire saw an increase of 19.5% on residential listings sold, a 13.4% increase by total dollars.  Hillsborough County alone saw an increase 13.7% on residential listings sold, reflecting a 6.8% increase by total dollars.  In Massachusetts Association of Realtors reports single-family homes put under agreement in January were up a whopping 39.4% over last year.  Not that January 2011 was a banner year but growth is always a positive sign.

So it’s a nice start to the new year for Real Estate in New England!  Let the ski areas complain about the weather.

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Sandy LeRette – Realtor® ABR – Better Homes & Garden Real Estate / The Masiello Group – 436 Amherst Street, Nashua, NH  03063  cell: (603) 661-7301 email: slerette@masiello.com

Bob LeRette – Div. Sales Manager/ Real Estate – Boston.com & The Boston Globe,  617-929-2104 email:  rlerette@boston.com   & Realtor® - Better Homes & Garden Real Estate / The Masiello Group – 436 Amherst Street, Nashua, NH  03063

Passenger Rail Service from Southern NH could mean gains in the Real Estate Market and Boost the Local Economy

I leave my house each morning at 7AM and wonder, “Do I take I93 or Route 3 this morning?”  I’m just beginning my two-hour commute to Boston.  Neither way is great and they both lead to the eventual bottle-neck at the junction of 93 and Route 128 in Woburn, Massachusetts.  Most mornings it’s stop and crawl from there into the city.  At this point I change from traffic updates on the radio to music; I’m in the thick of it and can’t do anything about it.  I have a little coffee and breakfast while settling in for the long run.  The last 12 miles are the hardest.

It is mornings like this that I wonder what ever happened to the idea of bringing passenger rail service back to NH?  The proposal was to provide service from Manchester Airport, Manchester and Nashua down to Lowell where you could connect with current MBTA service.

How would passenger rail service from Southern NH, connecting to Boston, affect NH? 

·         The train would bring higher incomes to NH and allow the demand for Real Estate to help rebound the current market.  One look at Massachusetts housing costs compared to NH tells the story.  Check out rents in Boston:  http://www.boston.com/realestate/news/articles/2012/01/26/home_prices_may_still_be_down_but_boston_rents_hit_an_all_time_high_in_2011/

·         It’s better for the environment with fewer cars on the road.  There are currently over 165,000 vehicles crossing the NH/MA border on Route 93 and Route 3 only per day.

·         It would alleviate traffic on the highways and reduce the need for constant expansion and road work.  Does anyone remember a time that Route 93 wasn’t under construction?

·         It would allow more unemployed NH workers to seek additional work opportunities.

In 2007, the UNH Survey Center polled the Granite State for the Nashua Regional Planning Commission and found that 87% favor passenger rail service for Southern NH.

So in a nutshell, everyone wants it and it would grow our economy.

There is Legislation pending and most of the holdup is due to liability insurance and funding.  I recommend you visit the Nashua Regional Planning Commission online at http://www.nashuarpc.org/rail/index.html to learn more and write to Governor Lynch.  Meanwhile, I’ll see you on the highway.

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Sandy LeRette – Realtor® ABR – Better Homes & Garden Real Estate / The Masiello Group – 436 Amherst Street, Nashua, NH  03063  cell: (603) 661-7301 email: slerette@masiello.com

Bob LeRette – Div. Sales Manager/ Real Estate – Boston.com & The Boston Globe,  617-929-2104 email:  rlerette@boston.com   & Realtor® - Better Homes & Garden Real Estate / The Masiello Group – 436 Amherst Street, Nashua, NH  03063