Every Seller Thinks They Have the Best Spot on the Lake. They Are Not Wrong.
The first question most waterfront buyers ask me is which town they should focus on. My honest answer is that it depends entirely on what matters most to you, and that is not a deflection. It is the most useful place to start.
Every seller I have worked with believes they own the best location on this lake, and they will give you ten reasons why. Their particular sun exposure, their dock orientation, the way the mountain comes into view from the deck. And truthfully, they have a point. The lake winds through distinct communities that each offer something the others do not. There is no universal best. There is only the right fit for a specific buyer.
Eastern versus Western shore
The Eastern shore, Wolfeboro and Tuftonboro primarily, has held its character over decades because the access is harder and the development has been more restrained. The towns feel like themselves. The downtown has stayed intact. The Western shore communities like Meredith and Laconia offer more amenity access, more restaurant options, easier connections to major highways. For buyers who want that infrastructure alongside the lake, those towns deserve serious consideration. The dining scene in Meredith has genuinely elevated over the last several years.
The question I always ask first
Where are you coming from, and how often do you realistically plan to be here? The answer to that shapes almost everything else. A buyer driving from Boston needs to think about the Route 28 corridor differently than someone flying into Manchester. The town that feels central changes depending on the direction of your approach. That conversation usually reveals the right starting point faster than any ranking system I could offer.
"There is no best town on Lake Winnipesaukee. There is only the right fit for a specific buyer, and finding that fit is where the conversation needs to start."
Margot Skelley is a REALTOR at Compass Real Estate in Wolfeboro, NH, specializing in luxury lakefront and waterfront properties across Carroll County. She is the author of The Skelley Report, a monthly market letter published the first Friday of each month.