Greater price moderation and the availability of more properties for sale indicate a cooling of the overheated residential real estate market.
The price of a single-family home declined slightly in July to $530,000, down $8,000 from July’s record high of $538,000, but still above the previous highs set in May ($525,000), April ($515,000) and March ($495,950).
In some parts of the country, greater moderation in prices and the availability of larger properties for sale suggest a slight cooling of the recently overheated residential property market.
But although real estate experts in New Hampshire are observing some moderation, the state is still far from a balanced market.
“The news on the New Hampshire real estate market is largely the same as we’ve seen all year,” said Joanie McIntire, president of the New Hampshire Association of Realtors (NHAR). “The median sales price in July is still $530,000. Closed sales are up slightly compared to 2023, but down compared to 2022. I’m personally seeing multiple offers on properties and sales prices above list price. This suggests demand is still high.”
The NHAR sales report for July shows that the median sales price increased 10.4% to $530,000 for single-family homes and 5.2% to $405,000 for townhouse condos compared to July 2023.
Real estate stayed on the market a little longer in July. According to the NHAR report, the time on market indicator for single-family homes rose 5.3% to 20 days and for townhomes and condos rose 21.7% to 28 days. That’s still much faster than the 30 to 60 days in a normalized market.
The inventory (delivery months) increased by 29.4% to 2.2 for single-family homes and by 33.3% to 2.0 for terraced houses and condominiums. A good delivery month is between 4 and 6 months.
For several years now, there has been a seller’s market here, with prices rising because demand exceeds supply.
But in some markets across the country — particularly in the South in Texas, Florida and Louisiana — sellers are losing their advantage as more homes come up for sale and stay on the market longer.
But McIntire points out that there are still “many areas of the country where, similar to New Hampshire, supply is at record lows and demand remains high.”
And mortgage rates are still a long way from the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage of 2.65% in January 2021, the lowest rate ever fueled by the Federal Reserve’s low interest rates during the COVID pandemic to prevent an economic collapse. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s July forecast calls for mortgage rates to fall from 6.8% in the third quarter of 2024 to 6.6% in the fourth quarter. The association expects rates to fall to 6% in late 2025 and average 5.8% in 2026.
The “good news” McIntire cites is her optimism that housing activists are lobbying policymakers to create more housing, especially affordable housing.
“As I talk to people around the state, I feel like people are starting to realize that New Hampshire needs to increase its housing inventory,” said McIntire, an associate broker at Coldwell Banker J. Hempe Associates in Concord.
“Housing advocates are spreading the message that we need more housing to have a healthy economy and build strong communities,” she added. “We just need to listen to politicians and hear the voices of residents in New Hampshire’s cities and towns who desperately want more housing.”
In coastal New Hampshire, 31 of the 80 properties sold sold for more than $1 million, helping to push the region’s median home price up to $795,000 in July, which is actually 12.7 percent lower than a year ago, according to data from the Seacoast Board of Realtors.
This board draws its data from 13 sample communities: Exeter, Greenland, Hampton, Hampton Falls, New Castle, Newfields, Newington, North Hampton, Newmarket, Portsmouth, Rye, Seabrook and Stratham.
The average price for a condo in the area was $596,950, up 29.7% from the previous year.
“Our real estate market continues to perform very well,” said Lynn Lagasse, president of the Seacoast Board of Realtors. “While average prices have eased somewhat, sales have been very strong across all price categories.”
Here are the median single-family home prices in July for New Hampshire’s 10 counties, ranked from highest to lowest:
- Rockingham, $650,000
- Hillsborough, $542,000
- Carroll, $543,875
- Belknap, $537.00
- Grafton, $480,000
- Sullivan, $477,500
- Strafford, $473,000
- Merrimack, $470,000
- Cheshire, $380,000
- Coos, $240,000
Here are the average prices for condos in the counties (from high to low):
- Coos, $715,000
- Rockingham, $538,000
- Sullivan, $425,000
- Carroll, $464,500
- Belknap, $369,900
- Hillsborough, $369,500
- Stafford, $355,000
- Grafton, $326,225
- Merrimack, $320,000
- Cheshire, $235,000
According to a study by Cinch Home Services, a nationwide home warranty company, New Hampshire ranks seventh in the nation for the highest homeownership costs.
The study examined the average property taxes, mortgage payments and maintenance costs for an average-priced home in each state. They found that New Hampshire homeowners pay 37% more on housing costs than the national average, at $43,122 per year for housing-related expenses.
Hawaii topped the list with total spending of $65,185. Neighboring Massachusetts came in third with $51,316.
West Virginia had the lowest spending, at $14,506, according to the survey.
