NH residents dream of moving, but latest real estate stats show they’re stuck

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A study released by a Texas real estate group has found that New Hampshire homeowners are more likely than those of the other five New England states to be doing online research about moving, but New Hampshire home listings show that in reality, more homeowners are staying put.

The study by TexasRealEstateSource.com ranks Granite Staters 16th in the nation for online search trends frequently used by people interested in moving. The study release coincides with the latest New Hampshire real estate monthly market statistics, which show new listings of single-family homes and condos, as well as pending sales and inventory, have plummeted, while median sales prices continue to soar.

The study by journoresearch.org, and commissioned by the Texas real estate group, combined terms to give each state a “total search score,” and ranked the states from residents who search those terms the most to the least. South Carolina was the top-ranked state, followed by North Carolina, Arkansas, Georgia and Alabama.

The other New England states’ ranks were Rhode Island (27 out of 50 states), Maine (30), Connecticut (31), Vermont (33) and Massachusetts (39).

The Texas study shows what people may be considering, or maybe even just dreaming about. But the monthly New Hampshire Association of Realtors market data report shows what homeowners are actually doing – fewer are listing their homes, with the years-long trend of rising prices continuing, coupled with interest rate hikes that have made those prices even less affordable. On top of it, inventory continues a years-long decline.

Inventory graphic
Graphic/New Hampshire Association of Realtors

NH Homebuyer Budget Squeeze

While the market typically slows in the fall, the most recent trends in New Hampshire are also spurred by rising consumer prices and higher mortgage interest rates, which are squeezing homebuyer budgets and cooling activity, NHAR said in its monthly report summary.

The Federal Reserve’s 75-basis-point hike in September was the third such rate increase this year. “The cost of borrowing has reached multi-year highs on everything from credit cards to auto loans in 2022, as mortgage interest rates topped 6 percent for the first time since 2008, causing existing home sales to decline for the seventh consecutive month,” the NHAR said in its monthly summary. “Affordability challenges have priced many buyers out of the market this year, and buyers who do succeed in purchasing a home are finding that the costs of homeownership have increased significantly.”

Across the nation, monthly mortgage payments are more than 55 percent higher than a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors. And, as with New Hampshire, inventory remains lower than normal. 

“As the market continues to shift, experts project homes will begin to spend more days on market and price growth will slow in the months ahead,” NHAR said.

New listings graphic
Graphic/New Hampshire Association of Realtors

September NH Market Report

The monthly NHAR market report shows that new listings for single-family homes are down 18 percent from this time last year, and townhouse-condo listings are down 13.5%. Pending single-family home sales decreased 20.9 percent, and townhouse-condo properties 13.1 percent. 

Single-family home inventory – the amount of homes on the market – decreased 4.7 percent, and townhouse-condos were down 6.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the median sales price for a single-family home was 10 percet higher than this time last year, up to $440,000, compared to $400,000. Condo-townhouse property prices increased even more – 15 percent to $345,000, from $300,000.

Year-to-date figures are similar – closed single-family home sales are down 13.7 percent, median sales prices is up 13.1 percent, to $445,000, and new listings are down 11 percent.


Median sales price graphic
Graphic/New Hampshire Association of Realtors

NH Counties Market Overview

In Hillsborough County, where one-third of the state’s population lives, single-family home sales declined even more than the state figures, while the spike in price was greater. 

The number of sales closed in September was down 20.4 percent from September 2021 – 379 closed sales, compared to 476 in September 2021. The median single-family home price in Hillsborough County was up 11.6 percent  – $460,500 from $412,750. Hillsborough had the greatest decrease in sales and highest in median price of New Hampshire’s 10 counties.

Sullivan County, on the Vermont border, was one of three counties that had an increase in single-family home closings – 12.9 percent over last September. Though when looking at the numbers – 70 this year to last year’s 62 – it’s a small amount of homes. Overall this calendar year, sales in Sullivan county are down 1.5 percent from last year.

The median price for a single-family home in Sullivan County was up 2.5 percent over last September — $280,000 compared to $273,229.

Belknap (0.9 percent) and Grafton (1.5 percent) were the only other counties that showed up uptick in closed sales for September over last year.

No county in New Hampshire had a decrease in median single-family home price. The lowest-priced single-family homes in the state in September could be found in Coos County ($203,750 median), the state’s most northern county, while the most expensive were in Rockingham County ($549,900), which spreads from the Manchester area to the coast, in southern New Hampshire.

To see all the September NHAR statistics, click here.


 

About this Author

Maureen Milliken

Maureen Milliken is a contract reporter and content producer for consumer financial agencies. She has worked for northern New England publications, including the New Hampshire Union Leader, for 25 years, and most recently at Mainebiz in Portland, Maine. She can be found on LinkedIn and Twitter.