CONCORD, NH – The median price of a single-family home in New Hampshire dropped slightly, the first price decrease since January, as inventory and affordability slightly loosened up in July, according to the New Hampshire Association of Realtors monthly market report.
High mortgage rates in July, as well as continuing high median sales price, “have kept many prospective buyers on the sidelines, despite more home choices and less competition for those homes,” according to the National Association of Realtors.
Still, mortgage rates have been trending downwards, according to Business Insider. The average July rate in New Hampshire was around 7%.
The most positive sign in the New Hampshire market is available inventory, which was 2.2 for the second month in a row, the first time it’s been that high since May 2020, when it was 2.3. That means that if all the homes on the market sold at the current pace, with no new properties added, it would take 2.2 months to sell them all. Industry experts say that an ideal inventory is 6 or higher.
The New Hampshire median sales price for an existing single-family home in July was $530,000, 10.4% higher than the $480,000 of July 2023, but lower than June’s $538,000. The last time there was a decrease in price was in January, when the median sales price was $443,750, the final drop in a five-month decline that began in September 2023. Median sales price means that half of the properties sold for more and half sold for less.
The MSP of a condo/townhouse of $405,000 was also down from June’s $412,450, but up 5.2% from July 2023’s $385,000.
The lower sales price meant a rise in affordability index for the first time since January as well, although it’s still at a near-record low of 57 for New Hampshire residents who want to buy a single-family home. That means that the median area income as determined by the U.S. Census Bureau is 57% of what’s necessary to afford a monthly payment on a median-priced home, including current average interest rate, taxes and insurance. The affordability index in July 2023 was 62. Affordability index for a condo/townhouse was 74 in July, up from June’s 66, but down from July 2023’s 78.
Sales indicators that show more choice for buyers in both single-family homes and condo/townhouses were also up in July from a year ago, including closed sales, sales volume (the amount of money generated from sales), days on market pending sales, months’ supply, new listings and overall number of homes for sale in the state.
Some of the highlights [see attached chart for other numbers]:
- There were 1,273 closed single-family home sales, up 10.5% from 1,152 in July 2023. There were 371 closed townhouse/condo sales, up 5.1% from July 2023’s 353.
- There were 1,400 pending sales for single-family homes at the end of the month, up 19% from July 2023’s 1,176. There were 404 pending condo/townhouse sales, up 2.5% from 394.
- There were 1,595 new listings, up 14.6% from July 2023’s 1,392. There were 467 new condo/townhouse listings, up 13.6% from 411.
- There were 2,228 homes for sale, up 29.2% from July 2023’s 1,724. There were 682 condo/townhouse properties for sale, up 35% from 505.
Buyers for both types of property were still paying above list price, though a little less than before. Single-family homes sold for an average 101.6% of list price in July, down from 102.5% in July 2023 and from 102.4% in June. Condo/townhouse buyers paid an average 101.3% above list price, compared to 103% a year ago and 101.6% in June.
The most expensive county to buy a home in the state is Rockingham, where the MSP in July was $650,000. The least expensive was the state’s northernmost county, Coos, where the MSP was $240,000.
In Hillsborough County, the state’s most populous, which includes the cities of Manchester and Nashua, MSP in July was $542,000, with 311 home sales. It was $501,000 in July 2023, with 301 home sales that month. Condo/townhouse buyers paid an MSP of $369,500 in Hillsborough County in July, with 122 closed sales. That’s compared to $350,000 in July 2023, with 97 closed sales.
Nationally, the MSP for an existing single-family home was $426,900, up 4.1% from July 2023. As with New Hampshire, inventory was up, too. There is a 4.1-month supply, the highest level since 2020.
