Losses on both sides were very high and over 700,000 soldiers died.

In  the summer and fall of 1905 US President Theodore Roosevelt brokered a peace treaty between Japan and Russia.

He brought both sides to Portsmouth New Hampshire to negotiate the terms of that treaty which became known as the The Treaty of Portsmouth of 1905. This historic treaty marked the formal end of the Russo-Japanese War and marked the beginning of a new era of diplomatic negotiations. President Roosevelt was awarded the Nobel Peace Price for his role in bringing the two warring nations together.

In gratitude Japan gave the United States 2,000 Cherry trees in 1910 which the US planted along the tidal basin and another park along the Potomac River.

Most of those trees died from an insect infestation and Japan sent over another 3,000 trees in 1912 which fortunately lived.

Today, 100 years later, the Japanese Government gifted the City of Portsmouth with three seedlings from the original stock of those historic trees and they were planted in places significant to the 1905 peace treaty.

One of those spots was the Wentworth by the Sea Hotel where both sides stayed during the treaty negotiations. The other two locations in Portsmouth that received special Cherry trees today were the Strawbery Banke museum and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

Ann Cummings and I attended the ceremonial tree planting at the Wentworth by the Sea Hotel.

This was the scene at the Wentworth before the ceremony got under way. The little Cherry tree can be seen to the right of the white linen draped podium. It was pretty windy today and the maintenance guys said they had to dig a little hole in advance to set the tree in to keep it from blowing over.

Below left Japanese Consul General Takeshi Hikihara makes a few remarks before the ceremonial planting.

Below right General Hikihara and Wentworth General Manager Frank Wetenkamp plant the tree. You could tell neither of these gentlemen had very much shovel experience but they got it done. Also pictured is Charles B. Doleac,  President of the Japan-American Society of New Hampshire.

Afterward the Portsmouth High School Madrigal Singers performed “Sakura” a traditional Japanese folk song.

Sakura is a traditional Japanese folk song depicting spring, the season of cherry blossom.

The Portsmouth NH Peace Treat of 1905 is just one of the events that makes living in this beautiful New Hampshire Seacoast city so fascinating. Many spots in Portsmouth have been the scene of significant events in US and world history.

If you have any Portsmouth or NH Seacoast questions please give us a call or email, Ann Cummings and I are happy to answer any area or real estate questions.

Visit our website at NewHampshireMaineRealEstate.com to see all the Portsmouth NH and Seacoast listings for sale as well as listings in southern Maine.

I’m glad you asked those questions; here’s the answers with a current, real world example.

1. Portsmouth NH Home prices are now at about the same level they were in 2003
2. Interest rates are still at one of their lowest points in history
3. In 98% of the major metro markets in the US it’s more cost effective to buy a home than to rent one. The only two exceptions are San Francisco and Honolulu. (source: Trulia.com)

Right now in a terrific condominium neighborhood in Dover we have for sale a 3 bedroom, 2 bath condo with a full basement, 2 dedicated parking spaces, AND a detached 1 car garage. Take a look here:

In 2003 a TWO Bedroom, 1.5 bath unit, in the same complex, with no garage sold for $175,900. The 2012 asking price on our THREE bedroom, 2 bath WITH garage? $175,000!

In 2003 when the 2 bedroom home sold for $175,900 interest rates were around 6% for a 30 year, fixed rate mortgage. That would make your principal and interest payment on $175,900 with no down payment, $1,054.61 plus taxes and insurance.

Today, in 2012, interest rates for the same 30 year, fixed rate mortgage are around 4% or less. On a $175,000 mortgage the principal and interest payment is $835.48 plus taxes and insurance. That’s a $219.13 savings on a larger home with a garage. And that’s why now is such a great time to buy.

Figures like these are typical for a Portsmouth NH home purchase in 2012. You can buy at 2003 prices with the best interest rates in history and it’s a better deal to buy than to rent.

I could go on and on about pride of ownership, no rent increases, fix your home the way you want it, and so on but I think you’re getting the idea why buying now is such a great deal.

Even investor icon Warren Buffet thinks it’s a great time to buy:  “If I had a way of buying a couple hundred thousand singly family homes I would load up on them.”

“Affordable home prices and record-low mortgage rates have been the hallmark of the real estate marketplace for several years running,” says Jim Weichert, president and founder of Weichert, Realtors. “Purchasing a home now makes even more sense than ever, given the steadily increasing expense of renting and the growing probability that home prices will soon be on the upswing.”

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist had this to say: “If activity is sustained near present levels, existing-home sales will see their best performance in five years. Based on all of the factors in the current market, that’s what we’re expecting with sales rising 7 to 10 percent in 2012.”

The prices are right, the timing is right, and the interest rates will never be more right; give us a call or email and let’s get started finding you a Portsmouth NH home.

Visit NewHampshireMaineRealEstate.com to see all the New Hampshire and Maine house, condos, and land for sale. Call my partner Ann Cummings and I to ask any questions you may have and to see any homes for sale in the New Hampshire Seacoast and southern Maine areas. We’re “The Seacoast Real Estate Experts”

Trulia.com: “AMID RISING RENTS AND RECORD-LOW PRICES, HOMEOWNERSHIP MORE AFFORDABLE THAN RENTING IN 98 OUT OF 100 MAJOR METROS”

Not having a crystal ball we can’t answer that question accurately nor can anyone else. One thing we can say with accuracy is that even if home prices soften a little more and interest rates rise; your COSTS of buying and owning a home may be higher in the future than if you went ahead and bought now.

Our rationale is this. We know for a fact what homes are priced at today. We also know for a fact what Portsmouth NH interest rates and housing costs are today. We don’t know what may or may not happen tomorrow.

The mortgage rate you get can have a dramatic impact on your overall costs of owning a home. Recently we’ve been hearing that mortgage rates could begin to rise.

This chart from HSH Mortgage shows the recent rates for the benchmark 30 year fixed rate mortgage.

And Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for our National Association Of REALTORS recently said: “Mortgage rates will be starting to rise. From the 3.9 to 4.0 percent average rate in the past five months on a 30-year fixed mortgage, the new rates will soon be in the range of 4.3 to 4.6 percent”

Dr. Yun explains his logic here.

We do not attempt to predict future interest rates. We leave that up to the experts in the field. However, we want our readers to understand the potential impact on the cost of purchasing a home if they do rise. Here is a simple table that shows, even if the PRICE of a home softens, the COST of a home could increase.

As you can see from the example above, your COST of owning a home may increase by several hundred dollars a month if interest rates rise only a percent or two. Many purchasers think they should wait until they are sure that prices have hit bottom. Deciding whether or not to wait should be determined by where the COST of a home is headed.

Based on the graph above and a $360,000 mortgage, your monthly principal and interest payment (P&I)  at a 3.5% interest rate would be $1,617. At a 4% interest rate it would be $1,719, and if the rates jumped to 5% your monthly P & I would jump to $1,933;  a $316 increase in your cost of Portsmouth NH homeownership.

Based on those numbers can you afford to take a chance on waiting and roll the dice that interest rates will remain where they are?

Visit our website at NewHampshireMaineRealEstate.com to see all the Portsmouth NH, Seacoast areas and southern Maine listings for sale. You can also sign up to receive free mail updates for hot new listings, price reductions, and other listing information.

Questions? My partner Ann Cummings and I are happy to talk with you by phone, email, text, or we welcome in person visits to our office at RE/MAX Coast To Coast Properties in Portsmouth NH. Just call or email for an appointment. 603-431-1111, extension 3839 for Ann, 3801 for Jim

We love living, working, and playing in Portsmouth NH and the NH Seacoast including southern Maine; we think you will too. Contact us soon.

Portsmouth NH REALTORS Ann Cummings & Jim Lee, RE/MAX Coast To Coast Properties

First of all let’s define exactly what a short sale is. A “short sale” is a real estate transaction where the lender or lenders allow a property owner to sell that property for less than the mortgage balance causing them to get a ‘short” payoff, hence the term “short sale”.

Why would a lender do this you may ask? Generally a lender loses less money in a short sale than they would if they simply foreclosed on the property and sold it on the open market.

Generally two things have to occur for a lender to approve a short sale.

1. The value of the property must be less than the amount owed; the mortgage or mortgages.
2. The owner must have a “qualified” hardship.

Just owing more than the current value of your house is not a qualified hardship.

Some example of acceptable hardships are:

• Mortgage rate adjustments which make your payment more than you can pay.
• Loss of job or reduction in pay
• A death in the family
• Divorce
• A medical hardship
• Job relocation
• Military service
• Business failure
• Other reasons that create a legitimate hardship

If you think you might qualify for a short sale or just have questions, we’re happy to sit down with you and explain your options and recommend a course of action.

Jim Lee & Ann Cummings, “Your Seacoast Real Estate Experts”

www.MaineNewHampshireRealEstate.com

Give us a call today and let’s talk; no cost and no obligation.

Which was followed at other end of the day by a different but equally beautiful moonrise over Portsmouth Harbor.

If a move to the New Hampshire Seacoast or southern Maine area is in your future we invite you to see all our houses for sale at NewHampshireMaineRealEstate.com. We also invite you to set up a search for the type of home you’re looking for and we’ll email you updates when new listings meeting that criteria come on the market and also keep you advised of price reductions and other changes to your favorites.

The latest sales figures show Portsmouth NH real estate is on the upswing with rising prices and sales. We attribute a lot of that to very low unemployment figures in New Hampshire compared to the nation as a whole.

My wife/partner Ann Cummings and I are happy to answer any questions about both real estate and living in the New Hampshire and southern Maine Seacoast area; it’s a beautiful place to live, work, and play; we think you’ll agree after a visit.

“New Hampshire January home sales highest since 2007

January residential unit sales in New Hampshire were ahead of the prior January for the third consecutive year, as 656 single family homes were sold in the Granite State last month.

According to MLS data released this week by the New Hampshire Association of Realtors (NHAR), that number represented a 20 percent increase over the 549 homes sold in January 2011.

The median price of those homes, meanwhile, continued to lag slightly behind, having dropped 4 percent, from $207,000 in January 2011 to $198,500 in January 2012.

“Although it’s human nature to look for that one defining month that signals to everyone that the recovery in the housing market is afoot, that’s just not the nature of this economy,” said NHAR President John Rice, a 40-year veteran of the real estate industry and an agent with Tate & Foss Sotheby’s International in Portsmouth. “As we continue to hear from economists, we’re probably in the early stages of a slow upward climb.”

Rice said he was encouraged by the fact that the 656 January sales were the most since 2007, but he pointed out that this mild winter, particularly compared to last year’s frigid and snow-caked January, has likely played a role in the uptick.

“We’re happy to report positive news in terms of the market, but we also need to be clear about the context,” Rice said, “and right now the context is that we’ve had positive conditions compared to last year.”

The drop in median price continues to be influenced by the foreclosure market. The New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority reported 368 foreclosure deeds recorded in December 2011, the highest December number since NHHFA began its reporting in 2005.

In terms of local markets, eight of the state’s 10 counties saw New Hampshire home sales increases in January compared to a year ago, including a 108 percent jump in Sullivan County, 45 percent in Belknap County and 36 percent in both Cheshire and Rockingham counties.

The state’s largest county, Hillsborough, witnessed a 14 percent sales increase.

Year to date (YTD) condo sales in Rockingham County are 51 compared to 38 for the same time period in 2011; that’s a 34.2% increase in year over year numbers. The YTD median sales price is $180,000 versus $176,250 in 2011. That’s a modest 2.1% increase.

Residential properties are showing a 36.3% increase over 2011 with 2012 YTD sales numbers of 154 compared to 113 in 2011. The median Rockingham County prices is also up 2.5% YTD in 2012, $256,250 so far versus $249,900 in 2011.

With inventory still relatively high, interest rates low and prices competitive, NHAR President Rice said he would not be surprised to see an excellent spring in terms of sales.

“No predictions, but the New Hampshire home sales are certainly ripe for a continued increase in activity,” he said. “Those looking to buy a home have excellent opportunities right now.”

Your best source for New Hampshire homes for sale as well as southern Maine is NewHampshireMaineRealEstate.com 

And your New Hampshire & southern Maine Seacoast real estate experts are Ann Cummings & Jim Lee. We’re as close and accessible as your computer or your phone. 603-431-111, extension 3839 for Ann and 3801 for Jim. Give us a call with any questions or any of your Seacoast real estate needs. We live on the Seacoast and know it as only residents can.

Now there’s a way to have an email with only the new or updated Portsmouth NH homes that meet your search criteria delivered to you daily.

Just go to www.NewHampshireMaineRealEstate.com, create an account with just your name, email, and a password you choose, and save a search for homes like you want. After that, every day until you choose to stop receiving them, you will get a list of new or updated Portsmouth NH Homes that match that criteria. You just click the MLS number for the ones you want to look at and you’ll instantly be looking at multiple photos, a description, a location map, and options to set up a showing, share that listing with a friend, or print a flyer with all that information.

“Good Day, Jim Lee!

Here are the latest listings that match your MLS search criteria on newhampshiremainerealestate.com. This email outlines your current searches and shows new and updated listings on the web site which match your search criteria.

Thank you for visiting Ann & Jim Team Site. Please email jim@jimlee.com or call Ann 603.431.1111 x3839 with any questions!

Sincerely,

Ann & Jim Team Site

11 New and Updated Listings for Your “Seacoast listing changes” Search – Edit This Search – Manage Your Searches
Showing first 10 results. View all new and updated listings for this search.

If you click the MLS# 4131724 it will open up a full view of Portsmouth NH Homes like the example below.

So if you’re in the market for a new Portsmouth NH home (or any other NH or Maine area) just click on www.NewHampshireMaineRealEstate.com, set up a search, save it, and you’ll get your own personal list of new and/or updated listings delivered right to your in box.

Questions? Just shoot us an email or call, Ann Cummings or Jim Lee or call 603-431-1111 extension 3829 for Ann, 3801 for Jim .

We’re the local experts in Portsmouth NH Homes as well as other Seacoast and southern Maine areas.

Here’s a new condo listing at 525 Maplewood Avenue

An updated listing at 273 Maplewood Avenue

Another updated condo listing at 525 Maplewood Ave

 300 Wentworth Road New Castle , NH

And a nice condo at 401 State Street

Don’t see what you’re looking for here? Visit NewHampshireMaineRealEstate.com and sign up for all Portsmouth New Hampshire New Or Updated Real Estate Listings

You’ll get a daily update of homes just like the ones above that meet your search criteria. Quick, easy, and no hassle.

Questions about Portsmouth, the New Hampshire or southern Maine Seacoast?

Just call my partner Ann Cummings or me, we live in Portsmouth and look at local real estate almost every day to keep in tune with our market.

Thanks for visiting and have a great day!

Copyright 2011 Northern New England Real Estate Network, Inc. All rights reserved. This information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. The data relating to real estate for sale on this web site comes in part from the IDX Program of NNEREN. Subject to errors, omissions, prior sale, change or withdrawal without notice. This web site is updated daily.

This beautiful townhouse is less than 5 miles from downtown Portsmouth, NH

Visit NewHampshireMaineRealEstate.com to see all New Hampshire and Maine real estate listings for sale. Submit your name and email to get daily updates of new listings, price reductions, and other changes to listings. Easy to use search functions.

This beautiful home for the large family has a beautiful stone fireplace and glowing hardwood floors throughout. Click here for details.

Your best source for Portsmouth, New Castle, Rye, Hampton, and other New Hampshire Seacoast towns as well as southern Maine is NewHampshireMaineRealEstate.com. Search all single family, condos, multi-family, commercial, and land listings. Submit your name and email to receive daily updates of new listings and price reductions; don’t miss your dream house because you didn’t know until someone else bought it.

My partner Ann Cummings and I are happy to show you any property for sale in the New Hampshire and southern Maine Seacoast areas as well as answer any questions you may have about our beautiful area.

Here’s the numbers for Portsmouth NH’s houses and condo sales for the past 10 years.

Portsmouth New Hampshire Real Estate Sales 2002-2011

As you can see from the graph above the Portsmouth’s volume bottomed out in 2009 and has been on a gradual upswing since then but we’re still far below the peaks in the early 2000s.

Portsmouth New Hampshire real estate sales Days on market

The average days on the market in Portsmouth NH took a nice dip in 2011 versus 2010 but still far above the quicker sales times that were happening in the early part of 2000.

So what does all this mean for 2012 and the future of Portsmouth New Hampshire Real Estate Sales?

Portsmouth New Hampshire Real Estate Inventory of homes for sale

Currently in Portsmouth there are 121 single family homes and condos for sale. For all of 2011, total sales of single family homes and condos were 260 units or 21.67 per month.

Divide last years monthly sames number of 21.67 into the current inventory of 121 homes and the time to sell them (Portsmouth’s absorption rate)  is 5.58 or just under 6 months.

Generally over 6 months is considered a buyer’s market and under 6 months is a seller’s market. This close to 6 months indicated a balanced market.

Rising sales numbers and declining time to sell (days on market) are also indicative of move towards a more balanced market.

My predictions for 2012 in Portsmouth New Hampshire real estate sales? 2012 will bring more of the same as 2011. Interest rates should stay close to current ranges at least near term, consumer confidence will rise a little more than now, and if all goes well we’ll see an continued but gradual improvement in Portsmouth New Hampshire real estate sales for 2012. Don’t look for a quick return to early 2000 levels anytime soon.

Visit our website, www.NewHampshireMaineRealEstate.com  to see all the Portsmouth and Seacoast NH homes for sale as well as southern Maine listings too.

Questions or comments? All are welcomed and answered. My partner Ann Cummings and I would love to hear from you especially if you’re planning on buying or selling a home in the Portsmouth New Hampshire Seacoast area. We also cover the southern Maine market of Kittery, Eliot, Kittery Point, and most areas within a 20 mile radius of Portsmouth.

email or call us at REMAX Coast To Coast Properties 603-431-1111, extension 3839 for Ann and extension 3801 for Jim.