MANCHESTER, NH – Single-family home sales prices continue to skyrocket to all-time highs, with the median sales price in April for existing homes rising to $515,000, according to the latest figures from the New Hampshire Association of Realtors.
The median, which first hit the half-million mark in March, was up from a median of $453,000 in April 2023. Median means that half of the properties sold for a higher price, and half lower.
Those looking for the traditionally affordable condo/townhouse option may also have trouble finding one they can afford, with a $400,000 MSP, which was down from March’s $409,950. The condo/townhouse MSP is affected more by high-priced sales since it’s a much smaller market.
The affordability index on a single-family home in New Hampshire dropped to an all-time low of 56, meaning that the median area income is 56% of what’s necessary to afford a monthly payment on a median-priced home, including taxes and insurance. Condo/townhouse affordability was 73 in April.
Buyers are scooping up single-family homes after they’ve been on the market an average of 30 days. Condo/townhouses are lasting about a week longer, an average 38 days on the market.
The good news is that more homes have been listed for sale and inventory is up slightly. More homes for sale and more inventory available helps ease the price crunch.
“Warmer temperatures appear to have helped bring some sellers back to the market, providing additional options to home shoppers during the spring buying season,” the NHAR report said.
New single-family home listings increased 17.4% over last April, and 31.8% for condo/townhouses. Pending sales increased 11.6% for single-family homes and 19.2% for condo/townhouses from what they were a year ago.
There were 1,374 new single-family home listings in April, compared to 1,170 in April 2023; 795 closed sales, compared to 713 a year before, and 1,131 pending sales compared to 1,013 a month before.
There were 452 new condo/townhouse listings in April, compared to 343 in April 2023; 320 closed sales, compared to 279 a year ago; and 403 pending sales, compared to 338 a year ago.
Inventory increased 9% percent for single-family homes, from 1.2 months in April 2023 to 1.4 months. That means that if all the homes on the market were sold at the current pace, with no new ones added, it would take 1.4 months to sell them. Industry experts say a healthy market has about six months worth of homes available. Condo/townhouse inventory was up 24.4%, from 1.2 to 1.5.
New Hampshire homebuyers looking for a bargain should head north to Coos County, where the single-family home median price was $259,083 in April, up from $179,950 the year before. Coos also has the lowest condo/townhouse median in the state, at $187,000.
The priciest homes in the state were on the Seacoast, with Rockingham County’s median price $647,450. The highest median condo/townhouse price in the state in April was Strafford County, at $499,000.
Nationally, as average 30-year mortgage rates have topped 7%, the median single-family home price was $393,500 and inventory was at 3.2 months.