NORTH HAMPTON — Four Seacoast homes sold for $2 million or more in August, led by a four-bedroom, four-bathroom North Hampton home selling for more than $3 million, according to the Seacoast Board of Realtors.
The nearly 7,000-square-foot house on Woodland Road, which closed for $3.075 million last month, was custom-built in 2022 with a farmhouse design, according to a real estate listing. It is located on 12 acres of land, surrounded by trees. It features a screened-in porch with a wood-burning stone fireplace, a bluestone patio, and French doors leading to an office and den space.
The home was sold by Jennifer Madden, Rye-based Madden Group Real Estate principal owner and managing broker.
“Created with the highest quality finishes, not a single detail was overlooked,” a listing for the home reads. “The orientation of the home on the lot maximizes sunlight and scenic vistas. There's a relaxed yet contemporary style that blends modern design elements and neutral color palettes.”
Seacoast Board of Realtors statistician John Rice, an associate broker with Tate & Foss Sotheby’s International Realty, reported 59 homes sold in the Seacoast last month, making it the slowest August for single-family home transactions in a dozen years.
The Seacoast Board of Realtors monitors home and condominium sales in 13 Seacoast communities: Exeter, Greenland, Hampton, Hampton Falls, New Castle, Newfields, Newington, North Hampton, Newmarket, Portsmouth, Rye, Seabrook, and Stratham.
“As 30-year mortgage interest rates approached 8% and inventory levels at only one unit better than last year’s record August low (111), the Seacoast real estate market generated just 59 sales — a drop of 46.8% from last year,” Rice wrote in his report.
Average home sale prices are staying high, because mostly high-end homes are selling. The median price was $775,000 in August for single-family homes sold in the Seacoast. The figure was lower than the record $900,000-plus median price in July, which was the seventh straight month the median price had increased.
Through August, the number of home sales in the Seacoast had decreased by 23.8% year-over-year, and the median price of all homes sold in 2023 was $737,400, an increase of 11.7% over the first eight months of last year.
“Make no mistake, our market is very active, and we are still seeing multiple offers,” said Seacoast Board of Realtors president Jessica Ritchie said. “Still, lack of inventory and now rising interest rates are probably having more of an impact than they have in the recent past.”