For this report, we are examining Belknap, Cheshire, Hillsborough, and Rockingham counties in New Hampshire; and we are focusing on three property types: single-family homes, condominiums, and multi-family homes.
The New Hampshire housing market experienced a similar outcome as Massachusetts in that sales and prices increased when compared to 2020.
Sales Up 11.7%
Home sales increased by 662 transactions, now up to 6,329 sales over the first half of 2020, which had 5,667 sales. All three categories experienced increases in this time frame; singles by 4.3%, condos by 25.4% and multi-families by 54.3%.
Multi-families and condos saw larger increases as communal living is now a viable option for many. These large increases are due to last year’s artificial decreases due to safe distance mandates at the time. Single-family demand is still very high.
Home Sales by Month
Sales are up over every month except March of 2020. Closings weren’t quite yet affected by the pandemic in March last year, but as you can see, once April hit, sales dropped. 2021 didn’t beat out 2019 in the spring months quite as it did in January and February
Prices Up 19.3%
Average prices for homes increased by 19.3%, now up to $440,829 from $369,408 in 2020. Though multi-families increased by the highest percentage of 26.8% to $439,895, single families increased by 22.9% and have the highest average price of the three categories, now at $486,977. Condos increased by 11.5% to $328,706.
Home Prices by Month
Just like Massachusetts, prices increased steadily, every month year over year, but saw the greatest increases in the past few months as supply struggles to keep up with demand, and buyers have to offer over asking to win multiple offer situations.
Predictions for the Rest of the Year:
Seller activity will hopefully begin to increase as buyers are either securing homes or deciding to wait another year and postponing their search. Whatever pulls buyers out of the pool, as long as sellers keep listing there will hopefully be an increase in supply to alleviate the pressure on current buyers. It’s hopeful that fall will be one of the best times to buy that we’ve seen over the past year and a half.
Buyers, be advised not to dismiss a home if it’s been on the market longer than what we’ve seen over the past year. There’s nothing wrong with that house, it’s just that competition may be subsiding a bit. Sellers should still be advised to list their homes for a price based on recent activity, not on winter sales prices. The market was different back then with record-low inventory and the high buyer competition driving prices up. If you price too high now, you’ll likely find yourself needing to adjust the price a few weeks after you’ve been on the market.
Mortgage rates are on the buyer’s side as well. They have remained low since the pandemic hit, and with their recent drop, current buyers will likely benefit from obtaining a new rate in their preapprovals which will likely give them more buying power. We may see a gradual increase possibly beginning at the end of this year if the Fed begins to taper off buying mortgage-backed securities, so now is the time to lock in a rate.
Data provided by NEREN then compared to the prior year.