In April, median price of a single-family home has jumped to $515,000 due to high demand, lack of inventory
One month after reaching a historic median price of $500,000 for a single-family home in New Hampshire, the price jumped to a record high yet again — to $515,000 in April.
The factors that contribute to these rising prices — high demand and lack of inventory — will continue for the foreseeable future.
Joanie McIntire, president of the New Hampshire Association of Realtors (NHAR), observed there were just under 1,300 single-family homes for sale in all of the Granite State earlier this month.
“Compare this to the over 10,000 in May of 2015, when we last saw a balanced market. This lack of inventory is the biggest factor affecting values, resulting in a statewide median sale price of $515,000,” said McIntire, associate broker at Coldwell Banker J. Hampe Associates in Concord.
Factoring in to the demand and supply is the fact that the rising prices, as might be expected, affects the overall affordability of a single-family home here. April data from the NHAR shows the affordability index — which measures how affordable real estate is against a scale of 100 — sank to a new low of 56. That means that the average-income family only has about half of the needed income to afford the expenses associated with the purchase of a home.
All of this has far-reaching effects on the New Hampshire economy, according to McIntire.
“The lack of housing is resulting in a shortage of important workers such as police, firemen, teachers, nurses, laborers and others. A thriving economy cannot exist without housing for its workers,” said McIntire.
The latest NHAR trends report for April shows that the new $525,000 median price for a single-family home is 13.7% higher than it was in April 2023.
While not a record, residential condominium pricing for April was $400,000, an 11% bump from last April.
Supply is measured by estimating how long it would take to sell all homes on the market at the current sales pace, assuming no new homes are added. A healthy month’s supply is six months. In April, the months supply was 1.4 for single-family units and 1.5 for condos.
Among the 10 counties in the Granite State, Rockingham County is the priciest for a home, clocking in with a median cost of $647,450. The next highest was Hillsborough County at $525,000, followed by Merrimack at $520,000.
Strafford was the leader among the counties for condo pricing. It recorded at a median price of $499,900, a record there, and 53.8% more than what was recorded in April 2023.
On the Seacoast, which has consistently had some of the highest median prices for residential properties in the state, the cost of a house in April was $831,000, the highest since November 2023 and up 10.8% since last April.
The median price of a condo on the Seacoast was up 6.5% over last April to $585,000.
Sales in excess of $1 million are the norm each month there. In the single-family category, there were 17 in April, the largest of which of $5.25 million in Newington. There were eight $1 million-dollar-plus condominium sales, the largest of which was in downtown Portsmouth at $1.766 million.
But while prices are up, sales, which are typically brisk in the spring, are not.
“We continue to see strong demand for Seacoast real estate,” said Lynn Lagasse, president of the Seacoast Board of Realtors. “But limited inventory, rising prices and interest rates remain a challenge to potential buyers.”
The Seacoast board takes its sales data from 13 sample communities: Exeter, Greenland, Hampton, Hampton Falls, New Castle, Newfields, Newington, North Hampton, Newmarket, Portsmouth, Rye, Seabrook and Stratham.
McIntire and the NHRA continue to advocate for a loosening of what she describes as “restrictive zoning” on the local level that often impedes residential development, which she said “continues to be a barrier to remedying the housing shortage.”
The New Hampshire Legislature has been wrestling this session with proposed laws that would mandate an easing of some of those barriers.
One such piece of legislation — Senate Bill 538, known as the HOMEnibus bill — would make it easier for communities and developers to convert commercial real estate buildings into residential housing.
It passed the Senate but got killed in the House earlier this month by 170 Republicans and 18 Democrats earlier, many of whom worried about the loss of local control when it comes to housing.
“The ability to change the municipality’s zoning on very short notice without time for the citizens to consider and vote on the proposed changes is anathema to good governance,” Rep. Len Turcotte, R-Barrington, wrote to members as part of his report as chair of the Municipal and County Government Committee.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) in its analysis of April’s trends said higher interest rates and rising sales prices continue to keep some prospective buyers on the sidelines in what is typically a very active selling/buying season. It said the average 30-year mortgage rate topped 7% in recent weeks, while the median existing-home sales price nationwide hit $393,500, a 4.8% increase from the previous month.
In other real estate news, the NH Department of Revenue issued a reminder that low- and moderate-income property owners can now file an application for property tax relief.
According to the revenue department, single homeowners making up to $37,000 per year and married homeowners making up to $47,000 per year can apply for relief from the state no later than June 30, 2024. Additionally, the maximum homestead value qualifying for an award is $220,000 .
The department encourages applicants to file claims electronically using the NHDRA’s Granite Tax Connect (GTC) online portal at www.revenue.nh.gov/gtc. For applicants wishing to file paper claims, the application form (Form DP-8) is available on NHDRA’s website at www.revenue.nh.gov/forms/low-moderate.htm. Older versions of the form will not be accepted. Applicants are required to submit their individual income tax returns and final property tax bill for 2023 with the application.
