As the list of safe skating ponds and lakes grows, and NHL hockey starts up, it’s coming time to think of where you and your family will go to skate this winter. In a state and region known for good ice hockey, there are piles of hockey and skating rinks throughout the state. Sifting through the noise, we managed to come up with the top 10 skating locations in New Hampshire. Mostly indoor facilities, these locations offer more than just a slate of ice on which to skate.

1. Nestlenook Victorian – Jackson, NH

Nestlenook is an experience. Topping out the list overall and in the category of outdoor skating, this is fun for the whole family. Included in the experience are rentals, sharpening, and ticket packages for families, and wide open skating. Open rates are adults (13+) $10 and children 5-13 $7. Once you’ve skated enough, there’s no need to leave. Head on over for sleigh rides and snow shoeing around the scenic north country trails. Jackson is located just south of Mt. Washington, and just north of North Conway.

2. The Rinks at Exeter – Exeter, NH

The Rinks at Exeter come in a VERY close second to Nestlenook. There is a ton of activity here. This is arguable the nicest facility on the list, with batting cages, rentals, sharpening, hockey development, stick & puck, tournaments, figure skating, and more. If you’re okay with crowds, The Rinks at Exeter offer the best indoor skating experience on this list! Click here for more info about times and rates.

3. Mt. Washington Resort – Bretton Woods, NH

This is another “experience” skating opportunity. Part of what brought this toward the top of the list was that the use of this rink is FREE. Rentals are available for $5/hr. Skating here is year round and is only available for free skating (no hockey or figure skating). The second big factor Continue reading “Top 10 Skating Locations in New Hampshire” »

Newmarket Elementary and Newmarket Junior/Senior High School have teamed up with Prudential Verani Realty for the 2012 Verani Coat Drive. The students of the “Linked Together” before and after school program, shared by both schools, decided that this year they wanted to run a coat drive to help people stay warm. In a perfect example of what coat drives are all about, when asked about why she wanted to do a coat drive, 4th-grader Mia Smith said “How would you feel if you didn’t have a warm coat for winter?” The students in the Linked Together program set a lofty goal to collect 100 coats in November.

The problem the students ran into was “where do we give the coats once we have them?” Enter Prudential Verani Realty’s Maureen Wade. A REALTOR® based in Exeter, Maureen was contacted by a group leader who referenced the Verani coat drive and asked for assistance. Maureen agreed to help out, and will be collecting the coats from the Linked Together students and sending them in with the rest of the Verani Coat Drive coats to various charitable partners throughout New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Verani Realty salutes the Linked Together students for their commitment to the local community and to helping people less fortunate than themselves.

image courtesy of Lisa Tetrault-Zhe of Seacoastonline.com

As part of the recent news announcing Prudential Verani Realty and Real Living | The Norwood Group merging their two residential companies, we are pleased to have Susanne Kimball from The Norwood Group join the Prudential Verani Team!

As a licensed NH Real Estate Agent since 2002, Susanne covers many Southern New Hampshire towns from Concord south, east to the Exeter area and west to Wilton. Her personal goal as a REALTOR® is to provide the best service she can. Susanne states, “It is so important to be able to trust and communicate effectively with your real estate agent. I make it my top priority to listen carefully to understand my clients’ real estate goals. I work with them to provide the most current data on market conditions so they can make the best choices along the way. Together, with enthusiasm and a positive attitude, we will get it done.”

Throughout the years, Susanne has built a loyal client base through hard work, honesty, commitment, and a strong focus on what matters most – her clients.

Susanne is certified for relocation services in Southern New Hampshire and is a member of the Greater Manchester Nashua Board of REALTORS®. She is married with two children and a cocker spaniel named Bear.

Susanne is based out of the Prudential Verani Bedford Office located at 165 South River Road in Bedford, NH. She can be reached at p: (603) 816-9933, m: (603) 533-4447 or by email at susanne.kimball@verani.com.

According to a national market analysis completed in May, national home values rose for the third month in a row, climbing 0.5% from April to May. And that trend continues at a much more impressive pace at the local level, with home values either holding relatively steady or on the rise in many areas of New Hampshire. In fact, real estate in the Granite State is truly on the move.

In May, Portsmouth real estate sales experienced:

• Unit sales are up 58.3% to 19.
• Median price in May was $315,000. This is up 19.2% from $264,250 in May of 2011.
• Price per square foot is up by 5.1%.

No other town in Rockingham County performed better. And as far as communities go, Portsmouth offers a lot in terms of a safe, walkable friendly city for a family to settle in and call home.

In the city of Manchester, real estate news includes:

• New listings in May up 9.9% from May of 2011.
• YTD sales/list price ratio is up 1.2% to 97.1%.

And in Other Towns In Hillsborough County:

• Unit sales in Pelham are up by 62.5%.
• Average days on market in Goffstown are down 45.1% to 62.

This means more and more people are becoming home buyers. Want to learn more about Portsmouth, Manchester or other N.H. communities before you begin your own search for a new home?

Prudential Verani has taken the initiative to make “community shopping” simple and interesting for today’s buyer who wants to make an educated decision about where to shop for a home. Town profiles are a part of Verani real estate websites including: portsmouth.verani.com, exeter.verani.com, manchester.verani.com, nashua.verani.com and many, many other towns and cities throughout the state. There you will find not only listings of homes for sale in the community, but you will get a feel for the history and cultural attractions, how many people live there, and the structure of their school system. You will learn where it is nestled within the state and how long your commute to work, neighboring communities and the airport will be.

Continue reading “New Hampshire Home Sales Rising!” »

We’re Excited To Welcome Mo Seiler To The Verani Family!

Mo Seiler returned to her native New Hampshire after many years in the Florida marketplace. Not only are her roots here, but she has always felt connected to this area and New England’s four seasons. Originally from Berlin, NH Mo has lived in the Seacoast area since 2008 and currently lives in Rye – where the ocean is steps away!

While in Florida, Mo owned a catering company as well as an upscale bistro on Bonita Beach. As her friends and customers would say, “You will never go hungry as Mo loves testing new recipes and is a wonderful gourmet cook! When you meet her, you will feel like you have known her forever!”

Licensed since 2000, Mo began her career in real estate at Remax Action First in Florida. She then continued on with her career after moving back to NH working for Rye Beach Real Estate. Now, as a new associate with Prudential Verani in the Portsmouth Office, Mo continues to specialize in Condos and Residential real estate and serve her Seacoast clients in Rye, Portsmouth, Hampton, Stratham, Exeter, Greenland, Newton and Kingston. Plus, with her first-hand knowledge of the Florida real estate market, she can assist snowbirds with their relocation needs.

Mo is known for offering a stress-free, smooth transaction for her buyers and sellers. She understands their needs and never backs away from a challenge, only embraces it! She also never sits still. She is very active and has been a hospice volunteer since 1994 and was a member of the BNI Chapter in Palm Harbor, FL.

Continue reading “Prudential Verani Realty Welcomes Mo Seiler” »

We’re Excited To Welcome David Costenbader To The Verani Family!

David began his career in real estate as a Business Specialist in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. He is a PGA Golf Professional and has been a Country Club Manager / Membership Director for over twenty years. Knowledgeable with both Florida and New Hampshire Country Club Communities, he has a keen ability to assist buyers and sellers with their real estate needs.

David originally moved from Florida to Nashua, NH in 1993 and in 2004 married his wife Melody and relocated to Stratham, NH. Melody has been doing hair on the seacoast for fifteen years and works at Ciccolini Salon & Day Spa in Greenland, NH. “We both love the coastal shoreline, the quality schools, restaurants and local businesses, but most of all it’s the community that makes it so special.” said David. “The change of seasons and outdoor activities of hiking, skiing, golfing, boating and fishing offers a little something for everyone. The New Hampshire Seacoast is ideally situated between Boston, MA, the White Mountains and the scenic Maine Coastline.”

David’s primary focus will be servicing buyers and sellers in Stratham, Portsmouth, Rye, Exeter, Greenland, North Hampton, Hampton and nearby neighboring towns. He also belongs to the Seacoast Board of Realtors® and the National Association of Realtors.®

”After interviewing with most of the other brand name real estate
companies in the area, I selected Prudential Verani because of their cutting edge technology, training and the professionalism of their agents and managers. Prudential Verani is large enough to provide a wide range of support to our buyers, sellers and agents, yet small enough to care about each one.”

Many people have grown accustomed to mortgage interest rates holding steady for the last several years, but that may give buyers a false sense of security.

Regional manager John MacGilvary of Prudential Verani Realty’s office in Londonderry said buyers putting off shopping for a new home may find interest rates on the rise in the near future.

“What people forget is that historically, interest rates have been around the 8 percent mark,” MacGilvary said. “The interest rate you can get today will probably begin to rise in the next year, making now one of the best times to buy.”

While the Northeast in general saw a 10.9 percent decrease in sales, according to the National Association of Realtors, New Hampshire saw a modest decrease of 4.3 percent in February, but a whopping 55.9 percent increase in pending sales for March.

“Each market has to be looked at separately because each area or region has felt a different economic impact from job losses and the recession,” MacGilvary said. “Towns like Exeter were not hit with the economic fall like the community of Nashua. Sales in Rockingham County are doing well.”

Continue reading “Real Estate Shows Shift Toward Recovery for Rockingham County, NH” »

With financial constraints on families in today’s economy, local charities welcome assistance from local folks from food distributions to clothing. There are many local families as well as charities throughout New Hampshire that benefit from collection of winter items to keep people warm and this year will be no exception.

With thirteen office locations and over 300 agents, Prudential Verani Realty has been helping charities for the last nine years through its collection and distribution of coats. With over 12,000 coats collected and distributed last year, Prudential Verani Realty is helping communities one coat, hat, mitten or boot at a time. This year, winter items will be collected from October 1^st through December 1^st this year at any one of their locations in Portsmouth, Hampton, Exeter, Concord, Salem, Londonderry, Derry, Milford, Bedford, Nashua, Hampstead, Epping and Barnstead. Arrangements can be made for pick up or call for drop off locations and hours. Charitable organizations look for any type of children clothing, men’s and women’s coats as well as boots, mittens and warm hats. Collection boxes will also be placed in public locations for collection.

The Prudential Verani agents coordinate distribution to the local charities and if you know of a family in need, please contact one of their offices for assistance. Visit our contact page for office location details and hours regarding the 9^th Annual Prudential Verani Realty Coat Drive.

Prudential Verani Realty is pleased to announce that Denise Bernard has joined their Commercial Division as a new agent.

Denise offers over 15 years experience in sales in the garment apparel industry, and understand the needs of business owners. Her interest in real estate stemmed from her own personal experience while purchasing a multi-use commercial building in Exeter, New Hampshire. Denise will be working with the commercial team, focusing in the Exeter / Stratham area along with the 150 belt from Epping down to Plaistow.

Denise is a member of NH CIBOR and resides on the seacoast.

Article provided by Jennifer Frost, Director of Relocation Services

It’s no secret that our small and picturesque state of New Hampshire has had a few brushes with celebrity.

About 5 years ago there were rumors circulating that Johnny Depp was looking at property in New Hampshire. I don’t know if he ever did purchase a getaway in the ‘Switzerland of America,’ but word was out that Michael J. Fox did.

The band Aerosmith has its roots in New Hampshire. Lead singer Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry spent their childhood summers in Sunapee. Bassist Tom Hamilton went to nearby New London High School and lived year round in the resort town. Movie star Adam Sandler is from Manchester.  Comedians Seth Myers and Sarah Silverman were both born in Bedford.  Singer and actress Mandy Moore was born in Nashua.

Continue reading “New Hampshire Can Drop Names Too!” »