Real Estate Market Report - Greater Woodstock and Hanover-Lebanon Market Area - Full Year, 2020

 

Dear clients, friends and neighbors:

 

We are pleased to share with you our “Snyder Donegan Real Estate Market Report” summarizing real estate market activity in the greater Woodstock, Vermont and Hanover, New Hampshire market area for the full year of 2020.

 

Well…what strange and unprecedented times these are. As the COVID-19 pandemic stormed through our region and country, like most industries, real estate sales in our area were completely shut down for much of March and April of this past year. Yet, when the states of New Hampshire and then Vermont identified real estate buying and selling as “essential services” in May– with safety precautions and restrictions– buying activity soared from the combination of pent-up demand from a delayed normal buying season plus the surge of demand from new buyers, who were attracted to our area because it is relatively unpopulated, we have beautiful outdoors and nature all around us, fresh air and clean water, good people, good schools and safe communities. Low interest rates helped. Plus, the sudden shift to long-term remote work allowed many to finally realize the dream of working full or part-time from their new home in Vermont or New Hampshire. The buying activity that ensued was unprecedented.

 

We want to take this moment to express how proud we are of our incredible team of agents who more than met the challenges of the tsunami of buying in our market area in 2020. Our top six agents sold/closed $146 million in 2020, or nearly $25 million per agent on average. (In comparison, the average per agent for all Upper Valley agents was $5.6 million.) Our team’s efforts and the firm’s superior digital marketing strategies drove buyers to our company in waves. Combined with our superb property marketing support team (led by our wonderful Bess Watson!), we helped over 312 buyers and sellers achieve a successful purchase/sale in 2020. Our agents did this one client at a time, with attention to detail and perseverance in each and every deal right through to a successful sale/closing. While property sales in our core markets were up 25-75% year-over-year, our firm’s sales more than doubled (up 110%) to a record $180 million as we continued to grow market share in a field of larger big-box/corporate franchises, and we now head into our 12^th year as the leading independent/boutique real estate firm in this part of Vermont and New Hampshire. As we have done for the past decade, Snyder Donegan excelled in luxury real estate sales, assisting thirty-six (36) buyers and sellers of property to sell/close over $1 million, including record sales in many towns. (More on this below.) Needless to say, we are extremely proud of our team and look forward to 2021.

 

Inventory is now genuinely tight at most price points up to about $1.5 million, and prices clearly rose, particularly in moderate price points and in properties closer to well-known towns like Woodstock and Hanover. Because of this, we are starting to see buyers move both outwards in location from traditional “centers” and upwards in price. And more rural, even “remote” properties have special appeal to those seeking more permanent safety from the COVID storm or a simpler way of life.

 

In total, 391 single-family homes sold in 2020 in the Greater Woodstock Vermont market area (Barnard, Bridgewater, Hartland, Plymouth, Pomfret, Quechee, Reading, West Windsor, Woodstock) up 62% from 242 in 2019. In fact, not only did every single town in the Greater Woodstock market experience an increase in total dollar sales for the year, but nearly every town closed an all-time record number of homes. Of the 391 homes sold, buyers paid at or above a seller’s asking price in 118 of the transactions, with the average price hitting $558,347 (up from roughly $424,000 in 2019). Because of this boom, it stands to reason that inventory in the market is now significantly depleted, with just sixty-nine (69) single-family homes on the market at the close of the year compared to 179 at the same point in 2019.

 

As with the rest of the market, buying activity in the luxury market in the Greater Woodstock market area was very strong in 2020, with thirty-eight (38) sales of homes over $1 million sold/closed compared to thirteen (13) in all of 2019. Snyder Donegan was pleased to represent the buyers, sellers, or both in the highest priced 2020 individual home sales in most of the towns in the Woodstock area including Pomfret (3429 Cloudland Road/”Sleepy Hollow Farm” – $2.2 million), Barnard (3147 Mount Hunger Road – $2.55 million), Bridgewater (403 North Bridgewater Road – $1.125 million), and Plymouth (303 Frog City Road – $1.15 million).

 

The Greater Hanover-Lebanon market area (Hanover, Hartford, Lebanon, Lyme, Norwich, Plainfield, Strafford) also had a banner year in 2020 with 439 sales of single-family homes, eclipsing its 2019 total of 338, a 30% increase. Like the Greater Woodstock area, each town in the GHLA either met or exceeded its 2019 figures for total sales, with Hanover, Hartford, and Lyme setting all-time records. In 200 of the 439 sales that transacted over the year, buyers paid either at or above a seller’s asking price, with the average price of a home reaching $505,604. Not surprisingly, these record totals have left a vacuum in terms of available inventory, as there were just twenty-eight (28) single family homes actively listed in the entire Greater-Hanover market area on December 31 compared to eighty-four (84) at the same point in 2019.

 

In regard to luxury sales, the Greater Hanover-Lebanon market area saw thirty-six (36) sales of homes that sold/closed for $1 million or more. Snyder Donegan was pleased to represent the buyers, sellers, or both in the highest 2020 individual home sales in both Hanover (24 Occom Ridge – $3.1 million) and Lyme (42 Claflin Lane – $2.575 million).

 

Our firm continues to expand its marketing efforts and expand to new digital and print platforms, we are proudly underscoring our presence as the leading boutique real estate firm in the region. Consumer visits on our website were up a staggering 72% in 2020, with over 6,600 hours spent by those visitors looking for real estate. Our floorday leads produced over $30 million in sales for our agents, up 50% from our 2019 figures. With new inquiries and additional listings every day, we remain optimistic about the future of the real estate market and excited for what’s to come in 2021. As of this writing in mid-January, our firm already has nearly $35 million in deals under contract.

 

We will be selectively adding one or two more experienced agents in the coming year. Snyder Donegan offers a cordial, professional working environment in a boutique firm with a shared floorday system for new leads, a dedicated marketing support team member, and millions worth of inventory in beautiful and luxury listings, both publicly (MLS) and privately listed. If you or your team are interested in joining our firm, please contact either of our partners, David Donegan and John Snyder.

 

Please see the accompanying charts and table for more historical context and data on our market areas. Market reports for specific towns discussed in this report can be found on our blog: http://www.snyderdonegan.com/blog or by emailing us at team@snyderdonegan.com. 

 

We thank our many clients who have chosen Snyder Donegan Real Estate Group to represent them in their real estate matters and for helping make Snyder Donegan Real Estate Group the fastest growing real estate firm in the Upper Valley.

 

With warm regards,

 

Jennifer Falvey	Mary Mayhew
Dail Frates	Dan Noble
Karol Gomes	Tami Sullivan
Holly Hall	Bess Watson
Susan Hickey	Zoe Hathorn Washburn
Miranda Holson	David Donegan
John Snyder