In the growing effort to alleviate the state’s housing shortage, New Hampshire communities have to do their part by loosening the grip they have on zoning, according to Bob Quinn, executive director of the New Hampshire Association of Realtors (NHAR).
“It is constraining the state’s ability to grow its workforce and therefore grow its economy,” Quinn said of the housing crisis as part of a webinar on real estate housing trends on March 20 sponsored by NH Business Review.
“When we talk about, ‘Hey, it’s a local issue.’ It isn’t. What happens in one part of the state is going to impact another part of the state,” he added. “We all have to contribute and be a part of the solution. The towns can’t choose to take a pass on this.”
Quinn was joined on the webinar by Julie Jussif, chief program officer at New Hampshire Housing Finance Agency, and Matthew Le, retail lending director with Kennebunk Savings Bank. Mike Cote, editor at Yankee Publishing NH Group, served as moderator.
Data shared by Quinn showed the inverse relationship between housing supply and price: as supply declines, prices rise.
He noted that, in 2016, there were on average 8,000 homes for sale. During this past summer, that number was about 2,500.
Meanwhile, the median price of a single-family home rose from $225,000 to the current $510,000.
In a normal market, house prices increase 4-5%, according to Quinn. Given a 5% increase, a home should be currently priced at about $360,000.
NHAR is part of a recently formed New Hampshire Housing Coalition that was created to advocate for legislation that addresses the housing shortage. The coalition also includes the New Hampshire Homebuilders Association, the New Hampshire Banking Association and the Business and Industry Association (BIA).
According to Quinn, the state House and Senate are as engaged as never before to legislate changes that will help create more opportunity to grow the housing stock.
He reviewed several pieces of legislation that, in part, create more opportunities to build accessory dwelling units (ADUs), reduce minimum lot sizes, adjust frontage and setback requirements, and allow for more manufactured housing in residential areas.
Of note, while the webinar was being held, the state Senate passed SB 84, which sets maximum lot size requirements for single-family homes, depending on the availability of municipal or community sewer and water infrastructure. The bill would generally block zoning laws that require lot sizes larger than 66,000 square feet, which is about 1.5 acres.
Quinn described its passage as “a game-changer.”
BIA President & CEO Michael Skelton applauded the passage of SB 84 as a significant step in addressing the state’s housing supply and affordability crisis.
“The Senate’s action on SB 84 today represents the type of bold action and reform we need to address the housing supply and affordability crisis impacting our communities and the state’s economy,” he said in a statement.
“The growth and competitiveness of New Hampshire’s economy depends on a dynamic and skilled workforce, and the most significant barrier to attracting and retaining talent is the state’s insufficient supply of housing,” he added. “We are at a critical point of determining the future of New Hampshire’s economic competitiveness, as 27% of our current workforce is age 55 or older, highest among all U.S. states. SB 84 and other pro-housing supply reforms are essential to keeping New Hampshire on a path to economic prosperity.”
NH Housing’s Jussif offered a look at what a first-time homebuyer has faced in a market of low inventory and high demand and prices.
On average, she said, a household gets a bank loan for $321,000 at a 6.6% interest rate, resulting in a $2,000-plus a month payment on principal and interest. There is the added cost of insurance and property taxes often folded into the mortgage payment.
The cost of that mortgage generally accounts for 35.1% of a household’s income, she said, noting that 30% is considered affordable. That debt ratio was 29.1%, said Jussif.
“Homebuyers are paying a higher percentage of their income towards their mortgage payment, really not a surprise seeing the increase in home prices and increase in interest rates,” she said.
She said first-time homebuyer activity has historically been high in Manchester, Concord, Nashua and Rochester. In 2024, her agency saw an uptick in first-home activity in Somersworth, Claremont, Farmington and Dover.
Le from Kennebunk Savings focused much of his commentary on the benefits of ADUs.
Currently in New Hampshire, these accessory dwellings can be built as a matter of law as an attachment to an existing house. Current pending legislation would expand that right to detached ADUs.
A benefit of an ADU, according to Le, is that it enables an elderly parent to age in place close to family. Other benefits include ADUs being an affordable housing solution for a renter, plus it can provide rental income to the homeowner on whose property the ADU sits.
Noting that New Hampshire is said to need 60,000 new housing units between 2030 and 2060, Le said ADUs represent “a good potential solution for folks that are looking for housing.”
For Quinn, it’s a matter of balance between public need and local control.
“Towns have gone too far in removing individual’s ability to do with their own property what they best see fit,” said Quinn.
“I was talking to a Realtor not that long ago, and he was telling me that in one of his communities they have municipal water and sewer, and yet they still have two-acre lot minimums, which seems to be an enormous waste of public resources,” said Quinn. “The only way we are going to get out of this is if we are going to build more densely.”
