Vol.46, No.52
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W E E K O F M O N D A Y, D E C E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 2 4
THE REGISTRY REVIEW NEW HAMPSHIRE’S STATEWIDE REAL ESTATE & FINANCIAL NEWSPAPER A Publication of The Warren Group
WEEKLY SALES OF NOTE
NO NIM NERVES
Portsmouth
100 BORTHWICK AVE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $8,900,000 B: 100 Borthwick Avenue LLC S: Lighthouse FCU Mtg: Bank of New Hampshire $6,675,000
Sunapee
Granite State’s Bankers Cautiously Optimistic About 2025
54 HARBOR HILL RD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,725,000 B: Harbor Hill RT & Marquis Management LLC Tr S: Avone P Thielen, Tr for Avone P Thielen 1998 T
Net Interest Margins Expected to Grow
Bedford
BY JAY FITZGERALD
Hanover
T
5 QUAIL DR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,500,000 B: Heather S Vestal & Matthew L Vestal S: Mary F Schiavoni, Tr for 5 Quail Drive RT Mtg: Ledyard Natl Bk $2,063,700 Use: 4 Bdrm Colonial, Lot: 82764sf
New London
178 COUNTY RD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,092,733 B: New London Roth LLC S: Ledyard National Bank
North Hampton
11 BOUTILIER LN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,900,000 B: Robert S Phair & Hye Y Cho S: Raymond R Houle Jr & Patricia M Houle Mtg: CMG Mortgage Inc $1,520,000 Use: 3 Bdrm Contemporary, Lot: 377230sf
Tuftonboro
31 SAWYERS POINT RD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,850,000 B: Rourke Fine Home Bldg LLC S: Corinne M Heald Mtg: Corinne M Heald $1,100,000 Use: 2 Bdrm Ranch, Lot: 76230sf
Woodstock
173 MAIN ST. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,800,000 B: SHRI OM LLC S: Christopher R Clermont Mtg: NBT Bank NA $1,650,000 Use: Mixed Use-Prim Comm & Resd, Lot: 24829sf
Hampton
11 THORNTON ST. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,800,000 B: Cassandra R Bienvenue, Tr for Sharyn Kelley LT S: Gloria E Dobens, Tr for Gloria E Dobens RET
Portsmouth
SPECIAL TO THE REGISTRY REVIEW
he Federal Reserve’s recent cuts in its benchmark short-term interest rate has helped to improve the net interest margins of banks across New Hampshire, putting them in a stronger and more profitable position heading into the New Year But the big unknown of 2025 is whether the Fed will continue to lower rates or hold them steady amid fears of inflation flaring back up next year. Meanwhile, some bankers are also nervous about the potential economic impact of new tariffs on imported products that Presidentelect Donald Trump has vowed to impose after he takes office on Jan. 20. The net result: guarded confidence among local bankers as 2024 ends and 2025 begins.
“I do think there is reason for optimism at some levels,” said James Brannen, CEO of First Seacoast Bank of Dover and chairman-elect of the New Hampshire Bankers Association. “The Fed has lowered rates and may lower them more. But there are factors at work other than the Fed lowering rates. We’re seeing a little uncertainty about the economic environment. There’s some slowness tied to nervousness.” Clearly, banks are happy that the Fed has now lowered short-term rates a couple of
TRANSACTIONS THRU
3 Belknap �������������������������� 12/06/24 3 Carroll ���������������������������� 12/06/24 4 Cheshire ������������������������ 12/06/24 4 Coos �������������������������������� 12/06/24 5 Grafton ���������������������������� 12/06/24 5 Hillsborough ������������������ 12/06/24 6 Merrimack ���������������������� 12/06/24 7 Rockingham ������������������ 12/06/24 9 Strafford ������������������������ 12/06/24 9 Sullivan �������������������������� 12/06/24 10 Bankruptcies 10 Lien & Attachments 10 Foreclosure, Mortgagee & Other Lien Auctions 10 Requests for Bids & Proposals
Continued on Page 12
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Single-Family Sales By Month 1,400 1400
1,000 1000
REAL ESTATE RECORDS COUNTY
rates, leading to banks’ short-term borrowing costs outpacing returns on many of their longterm loans. The bottom line: the distance between “profitable” and “unprofitable” shrank worryingly for many of the nation’s banks. “The inverse yield curve nailed banks,” said Frank Farone, managing director of the Darling Consulting Group, a Boston-based risk management consulting firm that helps banks and credit unions manage their balance sheets and
1,200 1200
INDEX PG
times since September, moves that have crucially impacted net interest margins for institutions big and small. For nearly two years, banks had been dealing with an historic financial anomaly known as an inverted yield curve, triggered by the Fed’s aggressive 2022-2023 increases in shortterm rates as part of its strategy to combat post-Covid inflation. An inverted yield curve occurs when shortterm rates are actually higher than long-term
New Hampshire Market Statistics
Ossipee
14 LONG SANDS RD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,700,000 B: Stacey L Campbell & Christopher W Campbell S: Lisa Schultz & Kraig Burnham
Relief from an inverted yield curve and worryingly tight profit margins could be in the offing. But uncertainty about the Federal Reserve’s future direction will be the deciding factor, executives say.
‘Inverted Yield Curve’ – the Rise and Fall
20 MARTINE COTTAGE RD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,760,000 B: Warren Smith 3rd & Gloriann L Smith S: John R Maher, Tr for Maher FT Mtg: United Wholesale Mtg $1,408,000 Use: 2 Bdrm Contemporary, Lot: 102366sf
iStock photo
4 W WIND DR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,665,000 B: Jason Soukup & Elizabeth Soukup S: Evelyn S Letendre, Tr for Evelyn S Letendre RET Mtg: EMM Loans LLC $1,665,000 Use: 4 Bdrm Cape Cod, Lot: 152460sf
800
600 400 200 Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb.
Mar. April Apr. May May June June July July Aug. Aug. Sept. Sept. Oct. Oct. Nov. Nov. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. March ’23
’24
Number 1500 of 1,500 Sales
1,400 1400 1,300 1300 1200 1,200 1100 1,100 1000 1,000 900 900 800 800 700 700
Aug Nov. ’19
Aug Nov. ’20
Aug Nov. ’21
Aug Nov.
’22
Aug Nov. ’23
Aug Nov. ’24
Nov. 2019 Nov. 2020 Nov. 2021 Nov. 2022 Nov. 2023 Nov. 2024
Number of Sales
Change Prior Year
1,283 1,417 1,358 955 825 867
-7.30% 10.44% -4.16% -29.68% -13.61% 5.09%
q Statistics based on single-family home sales of $1,000 q Source: The Warren Group
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