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New Hampshire is the 10th most expensive state in the U.S. to own a home, and the top-ranked for increasing expense, according to an analysis by real estate industry website Agent Advice.
Prices in the 10 most expensive states in the U.S. ranked by the analysis skyrocketed between March 2021 and this past March, but the Granite State was only one of three in which prices went up, not down, between March 2022 and this year. Of the three states in which home prices continued to rise after March 2022, New Hampshire’s increase was the greatest.
The analysis looked at the “typical price” of homes throughout the country from March 2021 to March 2023, and also considered price and percentage increases, to come up with its rankings. (The analysis did not specify what “typical price” refers to – it is not the same number listed as the median sales price by the New Hampshire Association of Realtors).
The study only ranked the top 10 and doesn’t list how the other 40 states compare.
New Hampshire’s typical price of a home in March was $429,421, according to the analysis. That’s a $76,773 increase, or 22%, from March 2021. The increase includes a $21,034 hike between March 2022 and this year. That 5% increase in those 12 months is the highest of the three out of the 10 states in which prices went up.
The typical national price in March was $338,649, according to the study’s news release, but it doesn’t indicate how much higher that is than March 2021, or if it decreased after March 2022.
The median sales price in March for a single-family home in New Hampshire was $445,000, according to the NHAR, which is higher than the analysis’ typical price. The March MSP was up 1.1% from March 2022, when it was $440,000 (a $5,000 difference), and up 17.2% from March 2021, when the MSP was $366,000.
Median means that half of the homes sold had a higher price, and half a lower price. Average, on the other hand, means the number sold divided by the total of all prices. Average is usually a higher number than median, because a few extremely expensive homes can drive the number up. The analysis cites Zillow as its source, The online real estate listing site gets its information from individual municipal offices responsible for recording real estate transactions. The NHAR data comes from the state and regional industry real estate transaction compilations.
The two other states in which prices went up, rather than down, between March 2022 and this year were Hawaii, the most expensive overall state, which had a 3% price hike in that 12-month period, and New Jersey, which came in eighth and where prices went up 0.89%.
“Overall, there has been an increase in cost in the last three years throughout the nation,” said Chris Heller, CEO of Agent Advice, in the news release. “However, this research shows that there has also been a depreciation in multiple states over the last two years, showing a rise in more affordable housing.”
The fact that New Hampshire’s prices are increasing and there’s no sign of a rise in affordable housing shouldn’t surprise anyone in the state. In June, the MSP reached an all-time high of $495,000 (July numbers haven’t been released yet by the NHAR). Meanwhile, the affordability index for a single-family home in New Hampshire dropped to an all-time low of 61, which means that the median household income in the state is 61% of what’s needed to buy a median-priced home, including mortgage payment, interest and insurance.
The Top 9 rankings are:
1. Hawaii, with a typical house price of $834,583, 146% above the national average. Prices in Hawaii increased $166,777 (25%) from March 2021, including $25,150 (3%) from March 2022 to this March.
2. California, with a typical price of $728,134 and a $95,228 (15%) increase since March 2021, including a decrease of $18,573 (2.5%) since March 2022.
3. Washington state, at $562,936, with a $72,533 (15%) increase since March 2021, including a decrease of $17,938 (3.09%), since March 2022.
4. Massachusetts, the only other New England state listed, with a typical price of $558,313, and a $54,476 (11%) increase since March 2021, including a drop of $1,050 (0.19%), since March 2022.
5. Colorado, at $539,640, with a $82,504 (18%) increase since March 2021, including a decrease of $1,527 (0.28%), between March 2022 and this year.
6. Utah, at $506,072, with a $86,071 (20%) increase between March 2021 and this year, including a $10,849 (2%,) drop since March 2022.
7. Oregon, at $485,475, with a $56,730 (13%) increase since March 2021, including a decrease of $11,998 (2%) since March 2022.
8. New Jersey, at $451,559, with a $52,167 (13%) increase since March 2021, including a hike of $3,987 (0.89%) since March 2022.
9. Idaho, at $435,374, with a $56,321 (15%) increase since March 2021, including a $26,275 (6%) decrease since March 2022.