The Fryeburg Effect – The shift from North Conway NH to the real world.
This article describes what I am calling “The Fryeburg Effect” because the Fryeburg Maine real estate market is the best example of how the gravitational pull of North Conway NH for our primary buyers, the second home buyer, creates a cyclical lag time as real estate buyers shop their way across the Mount Washington Valley, looking for the dream home in the mountains, or by the lake, that they see in their head. The dream meets a stark reality in the primary target market for out of state shoppers – North Conway.
The Fryeburg Effect is the result of the process of elimination in a real estate buyers’ journey and what they learn about “The Valley” during the summer that leads them to the greener pastures of Fryeburg, Brownfield, Eaton NH, Chatham NH, Lovell, Denmark, Sweden or Bridgton Maine and the surrounding towns that are truly part of the greater Mount Washington Valley aka The Saco River Valley.
I can report on this effect both as a “well seasoned” NH – Maine real estate broker (and MA but that isn’t relevant to this dialogue), and as someone that moved to “The Valley” 15 yrs ago and knew almost nothing about the bordering towns in Western Maine, or just about nothing further than 1 mi from Rt 16.
This is a dialogue I have with sellers about market expectations and with buyers when they ask why a Maine property has been on the market for such a long time, at 6 months. Property sells every month of the year, and there is no reason to keep the property off the market, but the best selling season for “outside of North Conway – Bartlett” is always August through December. I’ll tell you why…
The best way I can sum it up…. well maybe not the BEST way… but this is how I can sum it up after 15 yrs in the North Conway NH real estate business; The majority of people making real estate inquiries in the Mt Washington Valley will never buy here.
It is human nature to imagine ourselves living where we travel, which leads to super easy internet searches and the click of a button. The majority of people looking at real estate in this area are starting with a “North Conway” search.
Fryeburg Maine real estate
Coming to the country and mountains and driving 20 min in and out of town is unbearable, and North Conway has to be the place… in June when they start their search. The most common search parameters? 3 bedroom 2 bath on more than 1 acre with a garage under $200k within 10 miles of North Conway Village (Bartlett, Jackson, and Conway) and built after 2000. 2nd most common search has been North Conway slope access condos for under $100k, a property that just doesn’t exist but gives us an idea of what people want.
The reality on the ground here in the Mount Washington Valley is that North Conway is like looking to own in Disney. In the park, walking distance to food and shops and parades, and all that comes with park ownership.
Bartlett is mostly confused with North Conway (the Intervale area is a mix of North Conway (Town of Conway) and lower Bartlett), and is like being just outside the park, while Jackson is a bit more like living on a golf course community just outside of the park area, and has its own target market, rarely confused with the less gentile North Conway moniker.
The “North Conway” market values are therefore skewed by this majority appeal and market pressure.
This has even resulted in local news articles presenting a skewed perspective by reporting on “North Conway” activity as being hot, while the lesser known communities that border the mythical boundaries of North Conway are lukewarm at best and very sensitive to the market cycles. Lack of inventory is not a problem in the normalized markets around North Conway.
The 2 factors of market pressure stoking prices in North Conway and the lack of the target audiences’ ideal properties creates an annual cycle that starts with North Conway and Bartlett hunting in May, June and July that spirals the real buyers of 1 acre + and built after 2000 homes out into Fryeburg and Conway’s other border town of Brownfield Maine.
That’s right, Conway borders 2 Maine towns! Just past Conway Lake or a quick left off Rt 5 in Maine, just before Fryeburg, and you are in Brownfield.
In Brownfield you can find a 3 bedroom 2 bath vacation property, in a beautiful country setting, maybe river access, maybe a view, built after 2000 on 5 acres for under $250k, while $250k buys a 1986 ranch on a .5 acre lot in Conway.
From there, some people even get the Maine fever and go as far east as Bridgton Maine, in the Shawnee Peak area, where they have the nearby option of hitting the North Conway area attractions within a 25 min drive or go into the Maine Lakes – Sebago region with a 15 min drive.
Unless someone is taking up full-time residence in Maine, which would put Maine’s income tax into the equation vs no state income tax in NH, the property tax difference is minimal and the lower cost of property offsets the higher mil rate for property taxes (which is only a marginal cost when dealing with properties under $500k).
Overall, the Maine side of the Mt Washington Valley market represents a normalized market condition for a second home market, which almost always means more inventory than buyers, except at the peak tourism seasons.
This means not only do you get more for your money in the towns outside of North Conway but you CAN actually find the peace and quiet and the open spaces and newer construction you really want in a second home.
In addition, the contractor base is operating in a more normalized, although highly seasonal New England environment. In other words, you can shop out a new roof or heating system and have a large choice of contractors and more competitive bidding to build your Fryeburg Maine real estate dream.
Many Portland and western suburban Portland contractors put the Maine towns in their service area but consider NH a little too far, so we often try to source within the valley, to the limited # of contractors in the area. This factor also increases the value, in my opinion, of the properties that lie just outside the hotspot of “North Conway”.
These added value factors to owning just outside of North Conway make it well worth the 20-25 min drive to get into the center of things and then be able to retreat and pick apples in your own yard or watch the sunset on the mountains or lake, without breaking the bank to get there.
Fryeburg Maine real estate. It is a wonderful and happy place. For some people, it truly is the only place they want to be and adapting to the aged inventory and high property taxes (0r low in Bartlett but higher values).
My message here is that you can still enjoy the North Conway area without owning a vacation home right in the thick of things, and may best enjoy your vacation time outside of the center of the valley.
By Bill Barbin, Realtor and Author
Keller Williams Lakes and Mountains North Conway NH: Bill Barbin Real Estate
3641 White Mountain Highway, North Conway NH 03860
cell: 603-986-0385 bill@ilovenorthconway.com http://www.ilovenorthconway.com
