Our Sunapee Kearsarge Region offers a unique and wide ranging assortment of fun and educational activities for all age groups, especially during the summer months. It’s one of the many things that makes this area such a fun place to live in.

Using our Colby Real Estate Blog I hope to draw your attention to a few activities every week that you might be interested in checking out.  With that in mind you might want to get more information about the following events taking place over the next week or so:

WOW! What great weather we are having here in the greater Lake Sunapee/Mt Kearsarge region. It seems that summer is upon us already this year with the recent warm days. There is no better place to be than in our region to kick off the upcoming months.  Spending time with family and friends is one the best parts of Memorial Day weekend and the Lake Sunapee/Mt Kearsarge region is the only place to be.

Come play were we live.

We are expecting great weather in the area for this upcoming weekend.  Please take the time to come out and support all of the local Memorial Day events.

All of us at Colby Real Estate would like to thank every Veteran and all service men and women around the world for their service to this great country of ours.

We wish everyone a happy and safe Holiday Weekend.

-Ben C.

Sunday, May 30

Springfield NH Services: Ceremonies begin at 10:00 am at the pleasant view cemetery with a salute to fallen Veterans, followed by a parade to the Town Meeting House for a Memorial Day program by the Springfield Kindergarten.

Sutton NH Services: Members of the American Legion Post 40 and Unit 40 of the American Legion Auxiliary will lead services at the South Sutton Church beginning at 2pm.

Monday, May 31

Warner NH Services: The Veterans’ Detail and members of the Kearsarge Regional High School Band will be at the Legion Hall at 8:00 am and marching to the General Harriman Monument in the Town Square at 8:30 am for a short prayer and placement of flowers. The Parade then continues to the Town Hall. At 8:45 am there will be a flag raising and flag salute outside the town hall.  At 9:30 am the Veterans’ detail, Boy Scouts, townspeople and band gather outside the Town Hall for the march to the Pine Grove Cemetery.

New London Services: The Kearsarge Regional High School Band will provide patriotic music at the First Baptist Church of New London. The service begins at 2:00 pm. Both Boy Scout and Girls Scout troops will also participate.

Wilmot Services: The service will begin at the Wilmot Community Center in Wilmot Flat at 4:00 pm, led by members of American Legion Post 40 and Unit 40 American Legion Auxiliary. The Andover Elementary/Middle School Band will provide patriotic music.

Denise Olson

We are very excited to announce 3 new Realtors at our company. They are all an awesome fit to our fun hard working team and we couldn’t be happier to have them.

I’ve vacationed in New London since the 60′s and moved here with my husband Fran permanently 14 years ago. I’m very active in the tennis community playing competitive tennis and also in the duplicate bridge circle. I’m the President and Manager of the New London Area Duplicate Bridge Club.

I have more than 30 years experience in sales starting in Real Estate in 1977 to the mid-80′s and moving from there to furniture sales. I’ve always been a consistent top performer.

In addition to sales, I have numerous years of experience in home design, so if your home needs “staging” to sell, I would be a great match as your agent to sell your home!  Fran and I have remodeled many homes over the years and I have learned from that experience as well as from my design training in the furniture industry what it takes to sell a home.

I enjoy working with Colby Real Estate and hope I can help you with your real estate needs.  Please contact me with any questions! 603-748-5566

Click here for more information or to contact Denise

Lindsay Walkinshaw

I was born and raised in Sunapee, Georges Mills to be more exact, and attended Sunapee Schools.  After living in other parts of the country and the world after college, my husband Shawn and I decided to return to the area to settle down and raise a family.

Upon my return to the area I began working with my father, Jim Currier, in the family construction business and when he retired in 2007 I became the owner of J.P. Currier Construction Co. Inc.  Shawn also works with me in this endeavor.

We welcomed our first child, Katie, into the world on February 9, 2010.  We look forward to teaching her to ski (or snowboard, if you ask my husband) and watching her grow up in an area that offers so many opportunities and adventures.
Please feel free to contact me anytime.  603-381-2862

Click here for more information or to contact Lindsay

Brenda Hoefle

My high levels of integrity and personal commitment are attributes that I pride myself on.    Enthusiastic creativity and desire to work on an innovative team excites me!  Customer satisfaction and a deep sense of real estate understanding complete the package.

As a native of New Hampshire I know the neighborhoods and communities of the state. I was raised in Manchester and have lived in the Lakes Region and the Upper River Valley most of my life.

My personal work experience as a Materials Manager for Sara Lee and as a Technical Customer Service Representative for Exel & Burndy Corporation has formed strong foundations for buying and selling.  My Business Administrative degree has helped me prepare myself within these fields.  I have a passion for building, so I built and general contracted several homes for my family and have managed a custom construction company for many years.

My approach has always been one of customer focus! My motivation is to bring buyers and sellers together to reach their goals and dreams.  I look forward to working with you to make that happen.  Please feel free to call me anytime of the day or night; I am always available and never unreachable. 603-455-1540

Click here for more info or to contact Brenda

58 Collins Road, Warner, NH

Colby Real Estate is taking part of the National Realtor Open House Day by offering public open houses at 7 of our listings.  All of these open houses will take place on Saturday, April 10 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm.  Feel free to stop by any of these houses to view them and talk Real Estate with us!

Enjoy the serenity of this beautifully landscaped 3 Bedroom, 2 Bath Cape. This home features an updated kitchen with stainless appliances!
$219,000

60 Kearsarge Woods Road, Wilmot, NH

Located at the foot of Mt Kearsarge, this lovely 3 Bedroom, 2 Bath Ranch is in move in condition! A must see!
$269,000

42 Kearsarge Valley Road, Wilmot, NH

Listen to the sounds of Cascade Brook from this spacious 4 Bedroom, 3 Bath Expanded Antique Cape.
$297,000

12 Pound Road, Wilmot, NH

Entertain in style with this stunning Contemporary style 4 Bedroom, 3 Bath home.  Fully remodeled from top to bottom! A must see!
$325,000

80 North Road, Sutton, NH

Enjoy the fantastic views of Mt. Kearsarge from this new 4 Bedroom, 4 Bath Cape.  This home features radiant heat and granite countertops!
$329,900

245 Burnt Hill Road, New London, NH

Choose from 2 Master Bedrooms, one upstairs and one down in this beautiful 4 Bedroom, 4 Bath Cape.  This home is ready to move in!
$399,000

2489 Main Street, Springfield, NH

Enjoy views of Lake Kolelemook from this beautiful 3 Bedroom, 3 Bath Ranch, or relax from your dock with 150’ of lake frontage.
$429,000

For directions or to answer any questions about these properties, call one of our agents at either of our two offices.  Hope to see you Saturday!

We are always getting questions from sellers asking what features of a house are important to buyers.  Should the seller upgrade their kitchen, or put in the hot tub in the back yard?

There was a recent survey done by the National Association of Realtors.  This was a extensive 75 question survey of over 900 recent buyers of new homes.  The recipients of this survey were asked to rate the importance of different house features.  The top five items from each importance level are listed below:

Must-Have

• Oversized shower with seating
• Energy-efficient appliances
• Sizable kitchen
• Ceiling fans/blinds
• Home office/study

Desirable

• Master suite soaker tub
• Butler’s pantry
• Tankless water heater
• Green flooring
• Stone exterior

Tradable

• Whirlpool tub
• Upstairs laundry
• Finished rec room/basement
• Home theater/media room
• Brick exterior

Removable

• Au pair/mother-in-law suite
• Walk-out basement
• Wine cellar
• Pool
• 4-car garage

This survey was done across the country, so some features don’t fit in our market, but overall there are some interesting results.  Use this information if you are planning to make any improvements to your house before you sell.

Happy New Year!!  Whoa what a year we had in 2009.  It’s amazing how many things have changed in the Real Estate world this past year.

• Prices of homes have significantly gone down
• Interest rates have plummeted
• Unemployment sky rocketed and is now just starting to get better
• The tax credit became a true credit and many people have cashed in
• You can now get a $6,500 tax credit for trading up

These factors alone make for a great time to buy and there is even talk of further extending the tax credits!

Here at Colby Real Estate we have seen first hand what these incentives have done to sales in the area.  Sales in 2009 were up from 2008 and we feel very strongly that 2010 will be another positive year for sales.

We can’t think of a better way to kick off 2010 and to top it off we have finally had our first major snow storm! Break out those downhill skis, xc skis, snowshoes and snowmobiles—it’s time to enjoy the Sunapee Region to its fullest!

Happy New Year and Best Wishes for 2010.

It is great news that the home buyer tax credit is being extended (once President Obama signs it) and also creating a $6,500 incentive for existing homeowners to trade up! We have seen many buyers taking advantage of this opportunity. The lower home prices, great interest rates and these tax credits have made for a fantastic time to buy real estate.

Please see the chart below which compares the old tax credit and the new extended tax credit.

A reminder to all that November 15, 2009 is America Recycles Day. The slogan of this event is ” It all comes back to you”. So everyone please take your part and recycle. Here at Colby Real Estate we have printed our buyers guide on recycled paper with an attempt to do our part.

It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is just days away and not to far in the future Mt. Sunapee Resort will be in full swing. We had a great time at our Warner office with the 62nd annual Warner Fall Foliage Festival. Ton’s of people in town and just a wonderful time had by all.

This past Friday was the School Halloween parade in Warner. The kids were great and the turnout of parents/grandparents and friend’s alike was awesome. Our agents Cindy and Ron handed out a ton of candy and had blast.

Check out the pictures below of Halloween Warner Style 2009.

Over 200 children overtook Main Street!

Scary little critters everywhere on Main Street!

Here is Cindy and Ron Handing out candy to all the kids

The market is still very active during this picturesque fall in the Sunapee Region. Currently 40 listings have gone under agreement this month and there are a total of 67 homes under contract in the area!

Recently we put together a video to showcase what we love about the Lake Sunapee Region and why we chose to work and live in this beautiful area.

What a great time to be in the Greater Lake Sunapee/Mt. Kearsarge region of New Hampshire.  The colors are in full swing and with this comes the perfect time to visit the 62^nd Annual Warner Fall Foliage Festival.  While in Warner take a moment and stop by our office on Main St and say Hi.  We will have balloons and Pumpkin painting for the kids.

Since you’re in the area why not check out a great Free Green Home Seminar that will be taking place on Sunday
http://www.boninarchitects.com/upcomingevents.html

Now for some awesome news–We are very excited and proud to announce that our new website is up and running. Please take a few minutes to see all the great new tools for buyers and sellers at:

www. colbyinc.com