Regardless of the area of The Granite State from Dover to Brentwood, from Concord to Hillsborough and Rockingham or anywhere in between, New Hampshire has seen a dramatic increase in the number of foreclosure homes in the state. This increase in defaulting mortgages has been caused by the mortgage meltdown and the global financial collapse that followed it. New Hampshire like all other states has felt the brunt of the foreclosure crisis. New Hampshire is however, worse off than most states in this statistic due to its lack of a diversified economy.
The gross state product is $60 billion annually which is less than the annual revenue of many American companies and 10th lowest in the nation.
The states economy which was once built on agriculture made a transition during the industrial revolution to textile and shoe manufacturing mainly. These industries account for only a small measure of the states output since the jobs began to flow to the southern states and oversees where the wages are substantially lower. Today only two of the Fortune 1000 companies is Headquartered in New Hampshire.
The state has maintained its agricultural base with Dairy products, stock and cattle, apples and eggs bring the largest contributors to the state gross product. This agricultural base has also contained construction and maintained the natural beauty of New Hampshire. This has lead to a thriving tourism industry that relies heavily on the prestine environment and winter sports. These seasonal and low revenue producing industries do not generally lead to expansive growth of a local economy and therefore New Hampshire has little chance of a speedy recovery.
This is good news for real estate investors in New Hampshire as the state takes the unenviable position of nineteenth highest number of foreclosures per housing unit. This is a reflection of both the unemployment figure and the sub-prime mortgage meltdown. Unemployment statewide has more than doubled in recent years and even though it is below the national average it still higher than it has been in New Hampshire historically. At 7.1% unemployment it does not have much chance of coming down in the foreseeable future.
The above statistics are all indicative of great potential investment potential. Real Estate investors or traditional home-buyers are in the best position to see dramatic increases in real estate investment value today than ever before. This opportunity to buy homes well below market value should not be overlooked. With a depressed market and additional reductions of prices offered by banks and lending institutions that are sitting on inventories of foreclosed homes that they must sell, now is the time to invest in real estate in general and foreclosures in particular.
Investors and owner occupants who take advantage of the down turn in the economy will reap greater rewards for being forward thinking enough to see the benefits of buying undervalued homes in a down economy. In this respect New Hampshire represents nothing if not opportunity.
The mortgage meltdown that has reduced the prices of homes across the state had less to do with home values or desirability than it did with faulty loan programs that were ticking time bombs for the states economy. Combined with unstable loan programs was a lending institution that was ripe with fraud and abuse which exacerbated the problem and therefore the number of mortgages that eventually went to default and homes that will go to foreclosure in the next several years.
Important statistics in the state are:The above numbers once collated indicate that although New Hampshire has a very high household income it is a very stable economy with little chance of exposive growth. This low growth potenential also indicates that economic busts are unlikely. Therefore, a foreclosure purchase will rely on the equity gained at the time of purchase more than other states which generally count on equity increases through time and the natural appreciation of the real estate market. This is why buying foreclosures in New Hampshire is so important.
This is good news for New Hampshire Real Estate investors within the state as the population of the state does remain stable unlike other states that have recently shown a negative population growth as citizens literally give up on a state and migrate to areas of the country that show greater potential for employment. The people of New Hampshire don't appear to be showing any signs of a mass exodus which means that the housing market should level off and begin to regain its strength with a degree of certainty that few states offer and illustrates the importance of buying under valued homes is essential in the state. Foreclosures are by far the best and surest way to buy homes under value in New Hampshire.
The areas below show a greater population density and therefore should provide a greater degree of ease when reselling or renting the home to a tenant.
