The median price of a single-family home was $514,000 in 2024, the first time ever a home in the Granite State averaged more than half a million dollars.
To put that in perspective, the median price for a house 10 years ago was $228,000. Five years ago it was $300,000. As recently as 2023, it was $470,000.
For Susan Cole, the 2025 president of the New Hampshire Association of Realtors (NHAR), the new year isn’t likely to bring much relief from the supply and affordability strains that have characterized the Granite State market for several years.
“The greatest obstacle continues to be the lack of inventory and subsequent lack of affordability,” said Cole, who operates the Susan Cole Realty Group in Lebanon.
The housing issue is also top of mind for Kelly Ayotte, sworn in as the state’s newest governor on Jan. 9, saying in her inaugural speech: “If we’re going to remain the economic beacon of New England, we need to start by tackling our housing crisis. This is about our now and our future.”
In comments to NH Business Review about the latest trends here, Cole referenced a new survey from the NHAR that showed a majority of Granite Staters don’t believe there is enough affordable housing in their communities, nor do they think they could afford to stay in their particular community if they sold their house there.
“Our survey showed that half of New Hampshire residents are not confident they could stay in their community if they had to move. It makes sense, considering that our affordability index was at 59 at the end of December – a far cry from the 131 in December 2019,” said Cole. “Again, that means that the median household income is just 59% of what is necessary to qualify for the median-priced home. That leads to housing anxiety and concern, which Realtors see every day on the faces of their clients: ‘What happens if I have to move? Where would I go?’”
“Our December survey shows that residents feel housing is a growing strain on their monthly budgets,” said Cole. “It’s not surprising, since the median home price in New Hampshire has increased 70% from 2019. I think it is fair to say that most residents have not seen their incomes increase anywhere near that in the past five years.”
The survey, done for NHAR in December by American Strategies, was evenly divided among Republicans, Democrats and those who didn’t identify with a political party, 74% were homeowners, and there were slightly more women respondents than men.
Survey results underscored efforts by NHAR and others to get state lawmakers and policymakers to loosen local zoning restrictions in order to deepen the supply of a variety of workforce/affordable housing.
The survey made this points:
- Voters lean towards building more housing to bring down costs, rather than limiting housing to preserve the rural character of the state.
- Voters lean towards saying that building more housing closer together on smaller lots is a better way to preserve the rural character of New Hampshire than building fewer homes further apart on larger lots.
- Many feel that paying their rent or mortgage is a financial strain.
- Half of New Hampshire voters are not confident that if they have to move, they would be able to afford to own or rent a home that meets their needs in their community.
- There is strong and broad support for allowing attached dwelling units (ADUs), detached ADUs, and homes on lots smaller than one acre.
Only attached ADUs are currently allowed by right, per New Hampshire law. Legislation regarding detached ADUs will be raised during the 2025 session.
“There are some great ideas being put forward in the Legislature to alleviate the housing crisis and get more inventory on the market. NHAR looks forward to working with policymakers to see those through to passage,” said Cole. “Government has played a role in creating this situation with restrictive zoning and unnecessary regulations. We need to get back to trusting our neighbors by expanding private property rights.”
Ayotte, a Republican, talked about housing during her inaugural address as she was sworn in as the state’s 83rd governor and its third woman, behind Democrats Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, now both U.S. senators.
“The journey of a thousand steps begins with one, and there is no simple solution to this crisis, but we’re going to pursue an all-of-the-above strategy to address it,” she said. “We have to bring everyone to the table — the state, the local communities, the private sector — so we figure out where the opportunities are and how we can clear the way to build and strengthen new and existing partnerships.”
She cited a couple of examples of the kind of partnerships she envisions.
“A great example of this is what’s happening in Rochester under Mayor Paul Callaghan. This fall, I had the chance to join the mayor at a groundbreaking for The Rapids on Cocheco project. A 52-unit workforce housing complex coming together because the city, HUD, private sector, New Hampshire Housing and state government are working together,” she said.
“Or look at Berlin,” she added, “where the old Brown Elementary School has been repurposed for new housing. We need to look at state property like this and find opportunities to leverage underutilized assets on our books to combat this crisis.”
She did not specifically address efforts by some policymakers to remove some local control and require municipal zoning boards to ease up on housing restrictions. She did say she wants to streamline housing development approvals that require state permits.
“As a state, we must model good behavior if we are going to ask the same of our local communities that are making these zoning decisions,” said Ayotte. “That starts with overhauling agency approvals, so they take no more than 60 days from start to finish. We need to make the process as frictionless as possible so projects that are great for our communities are not getting halted by unnecessary red tape.”
The December real estate data from the NHAR shows a single-family house in the state had a median price of $507,000. During 2024, the price of a house was at or above a half million dollars for 10 of the 12 months, contributing to the year-end median of $514,000.
A residential condominium/townhouse in December rang in at a median of $443,000. For the full year in 2024, the median condo price was $415,000.
Supply of inventory in December was down to 1.5 months for a house, 1.7 months for a condo.
The affordability index in December was 59 for a house and 67 for a condo.
Here is are the median prices by county of a single-family home in December:
- Belknap $439,500
- Carroll $450,000
- Cheshire $385,000
- Coos $277,500
- Grafton $412,500
- Hillsborough $526,500
- Merrimack $476,500
- Rockingham $640,000
- Strafford $486,500
- Sullivan $395,000
Here are the December condo median prices by county:
- Belknap $395,000
- Carroll $780,000
- Cheshire $0 (no units sold during December)
- Coos $559,000 (based on one unit sold)
- Grafton $364,900
- Hillsborough $375,450
- Merrimack $389,900
- Rockingham $522,000
- Strafford $374,900
- Sullivan $0 (no units sold during December)
Of note is a new record for the sale of a home in Portsmouth for $6.8 million, according to the Seacoast Board of Realtors. The board in its December report said the waterfront, 3,813-square-foot, 4-bedroom home is the largest sale ever in Portsmouth and only the fourth Portsmouth transaction in modern sales history to top $6 million.
There were 23 sales of single-family homes priced at $1 million dollars or more in the Seacoast region, besting the old December record set in 2022 by two sales. The Seacoast board takes its data from 13 sample communities: Exeter, Greenland, Hampton, Hampton Falls, New Castle, Newfields, Newington, North Hampton, Newmarket, Portsmouth, Rye, Seabrook and Stratham.
The region finished 2024 with a median sales price of $800,000 for a house, a new annual record.
For a condo, the year’s median price was $577,950, also a new annual record. Five units in the region sold in December for $1 million or more, a new December record.
