Home prices in New Hampshire hit another record, reaching $545,000 in July, according to the state's real estate agent group.
The median home sales price jumped 2.8% compared to July 2024, the New Hampshire Association of Realtors said in its monthly report. Prices have been hitting record highs all year, the group said, noting that the median price was $528,000 in April and $540,000 in May and June.
"I’m just waiting for that month when we wake up and it’s not the highest median sales price ever," Susan Cole, the group's president, said in a NHAR podcast interview. "And maybe that day is coming sooner than we think."
The housing market in New Hampshire — where single-family homes and condominiums dominate the scene — has shifted a bit this year, partially because of how much prices have soared, Cole said.
"It's more common to see price reductions these days in our markets," said Cole, an agent at Susan Cole Realty Group in Lebanon. "I’m seeing sellers needing to be a little more patient with the sale of their home. In other words, days on market is going up — or it has gone up a bit."
For single-family homes, days on market grew 16.7% from 18 in July 2024 to 21 last month. For condos, days on market dipped by one — from 27 to 26 year over year.
Closed sales for single-family homes grew 8.7% from 1,277 to 1,388 and by 12.5% for condos from 376 to 423, according to the report. Pending sales for single-family homes rose nearly 21% from 1,270 in July 2024 to 1,533 last month and 7.8% for condos from 387 to 417.
The median price for condos rose 4.6% year over year in July to $425,000.
New Hampshire finds itself in a severe housing shortage brought on by stalled new home construction activity that hasn't kept pace with the state's rising population. A 2023 projection from state officials found that New Hampshire will likely welcome 74,400 new households between 2020 and 2040, which means the housing market will need to add another 90,000 units to keep up with demand. Most of those 90,000 will need to be detached, single-family homes, state officials said.
Housing is also in short supply because a large number of Granite Staters are retiring in place, thus occupying homes that would normally go up for sale, according to the 2023 projection from New Hampshire Housing, a nonprofit organization that operates rental and homeownership programs to help low—and moderate-income people find affordable housing.
Inventory moved in the right direction in July, the New Hampshire Association of Realtors said, with new listings for single-family homes growing 17.6% from 1,537 to 1,807. Condo new listings grew 6.6% from 473 in July 2024 to 504 last month.
The number of existing homes on the market in July grew 28.3% for single-family properties from 2,006 to 2,574 and up 19.3% for condos from 668 to 797.
Hundreds of homes and condos are currently on sale in New Hampshire — including a three-bedroom split-level in Manchester for $485,000 and a three-bedroom Cape Cod in Nashua for $629,900.
The group noted that, while inventory climbed last month, the tally "is still historically low" and only provides the state with 2.5 months' worth of homes to sell. By comparison, real estate professionals typically say six months of inventory would create a balanced market. New Hampshire hasn't seen a balanced market since October 2016, the group said.
