Courtesy of Nashua Ink Link
New Hampshire’s residential housing market loosened up a little in 2024, with both sales of existing single-family homes, as well as condo-townhouses, up 3.6% from 2023.
The number of homes sold in New Hampshire in 2024 – 12,023 – though higher than last year’s 11,604, is still the lowest amount since 2012, when the country was beginning to recover from the Great Recession and the housing crisis that spurred it.
The 2024 median sales price for a single-family home was $514,000 in 2024, an all-time yearly high, up from $470,000 in 2023 for a 9.4% increase, according to the New Hampshire Association of Realtors monthly market report. Median condo/townhouse sales price for 2024 was $415,000, up from $385,000 in 2023, a 7.8% increase. Median means that half of the properties sold for a higher price, half sold for a lower price.
The median sales price for a single-family home for December was lower than the year’s number, at $507,000, up from $461,500 in December 2023. The median sales price for a condo/townhouse in December, however, was much higher, at $443,000, up from $399,748 in December 2023
Granite States remained less able to afford a home than they have since the affordability index started tracking it – it was 58 in 2024, which means that the state’s median income is 58% of what’s needed to afford a monthly home payment in New Hampshire. Monthly home payment includes loan payment, property taxes and insurance. The affordability index was 65 in 2023. The 2024 affordability index for condo/townhouse properties was 72, compared to 79 in 2023.
Closed sales (3.6%), pending sales (3.9%) and new listings (7.5%) for single-family homes were all up in 2024, an indication the market had improved a little over the previous year. Those numbers were also up slightly for the much smaller condo/townhouse market – closed sales were 3.6%, pending sales were 0.4%, and new listings were 3.1%.
Inventory remained stubbornly low, a major factor in keeping prices high. There was 15 months’ inventory available at the end of December, the same figure as the end of last year. That means if all of the properties on the market were sold at the same rate they’re selling now, with no new ones added, they’d sell in 1.5 months. Industry experts say a 5-6 months is ideal for a balanced market. Condo/townhouse inventory also remained low, at 1.7, the same as it was at the end of 2023.
Single-family inventory had crept above 2 in May and rose as high as 2.5 in September, but dropped below 2 in December. Condo/townhouse inventory reached 2 in June, and rose as high as 2.3 in August, but was back below 2 in November. Inventory has remained stubbornly below and around 2.”
New Hampshire single-family homes stayed on the market an average of 28 days in 2024, up from 26 in 2023. In December, the average was 37 days, up from 27 in December 2023.
Buyers in 2024 paid an average 100.8% of list price, compared to 101.2% in 2023. In December, they paid 99.2%, down from 99.7% in December 2023.
New Hampshire condo/townhouse properties stayed on the market an average 31 days in 2024, up from 27 in 2023. In December, they were on the market an average of 36 days, up from 28 in December 2023.
Buyers paid an average 100.9% of list price for condo/townhouse properties in 2024, compared to 101.8% in 2023. In December, they paid 100.1%, compared to 100.5% in December 2023.
Nationally, the median single-family home price was $407,100 in December, and sales were up 4.8%.
This article is being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.
