CONCORD, NH – The inventory of single-family homes for sale in New Hampshire this summer is as good as it’s been in years, though still well below what’s needed to help bring median sales prices down.
Inventory in August was 2.5, according the New Hampshire Association or Realtors monthly market report. That means that if all the homes on the market were sold at the current pace, it would take 2.5 months to sell them. Inventory in August 2024 was 2.1.
August was the third straight month in which inventory was at 2.5 or above. It hit 2.5 in June, the first time it’s been that high since December 2019, when it was 2.9. Inventory was 2.6 in July [it was reported last month at 2.5, but has been adjusted]. A healthy market needs an inventory of about six months, according to industry experts.
The state median sales price for August was $550,000, up from $535,000 in August 2024, and from $547,500 in July. Median means that half of the homes in the state sold for more, half for less.
The median sales price for a single family home in Hillsborough County in August was $586,000, with 341 closed sales. The county includes the cities of Manchester and Nashua. That was up from $550,000 in August 2024, with 333 closed sales. MSP in July was $585,500, with 350 closed sales.
Hillsborough County’s August MSP was second only to Rockingham County, on the seacoast, which came in at $689,000, with 270 closed sales. The state’s least expensive county in which to buy a home in August was Coos, the state’s northernmost county, with an MSP of $275,000, with 52 closed sales.
Four counties had a lower August MSP than in August 2024: Belknap, $502,000, down from $555,000; Cheshire,$377,500, down from $385,000; Grafton, $441,500, down from $489,950; and Strafford, $520,000, down from $540,000. Sullivan County’s MSP of $410,000 was the same as 12 months before.
The affordability index was 55 in August, meaning that the state’s median income is 55% of what’s needed to afford the monthly cost of a median-priced single-family home, including mortgage payment, insurance and property tax. That’s down from 58 in August 2024, and even with July’s 55. It reached an all-time low of 53 in June. An “affordable” home payment means that the cost of a home isn’t more than 30% of income.
Aside from the increasing inventory, other key indicators also show the market continues to loosen slightly. Up from August 2024 were closed sales [2%], pending sales [20.9%], new listings [11.1%] and overall homes for sale [22.8%].
Buyers in August got more of a break than they have in a while, paying 99.9% of list price, compared to 100.8% a year ago, and 100.5% in July. The last time buyers paid less than 100% list price was in March.
Home also stayed on the market a little longer in August than they had been – an average 25 days, up from 23 a year ago and 21 in July.
The much smaller condo/townhouse market also showed some positive signs, though with an MSP of $415,000 in August, the affordability index was 73. The August price was up from $408,089 in August 2024, when the affordability index was 75. In July, the MSP for condo/townhouses was $429,000, so it dropped significantly in August, but since the market is so small, a few high-priced sales can make a big difference.
Inventory was 2.2 in August, up from 2.1 in August 2024, but down from 2.4 in July. August’s inventory was the lowest it’s been since May.
Other year-over-year improvements in key indicators were closed sales [+1.7%], pending sales [24.1%], new listings [+22%], and overall homes for sale [+9.5%].
Buyers paid an average 99.9% of list price, down from 101.1% a year ago, and 100.5% in July. The last time the average was below 100% was in March.
Nationally, sales were up 2.0% from July and 0.8% from August 2024, according to the National Association of Realtors. The national MSP is $422,400, and inventory is 4.6, the highest it’s been since May 2020, “a shift that has helped slow price growth in many markets,” the NAR said.