
New single-family and condominium listings continue to be conspicuous by their absence across the state
New Hampshire’s housing market is off to another tough start as a shortage of inventory keeps plaguing the state.
As the average interest rate on a 30-year loan crept closer to 5 percent last month, statewide first-quarter single-family home sales fell 11 percent on a year-over-year basis, to 2,007. Among condominiums over the same period, that figure plummeted 21 percent, to 751.
The bulk of the missing single-family sales was found in Carroll, Grafton and Hillsborough counties. Together, the three saw a 197-home drop-off from last year, 78 percent of the statewide year-over-year decline for the first quarter.
Among condos, the shortfall was most acute in Rockingham (96-unit decline) and Grafton (44-unit decline).
New listings continue to be conspicuous by their absence across the state, the New Hampshire Association of Realtors reported. Only 2,935 single-family homes have hit the market so far this year, the association said, a 15.7 percent drop-off from last year’s already-low levels. Among condos, that decline was 9.6 percent, to 1,122.
Single-family inventory was just 1,134 last month, a 19.2 percent drop from the same month in 2021; only 293 condos were on the market, NHAR said, a 35 percent drop-off from last March.
With homes in such short supply, prices continued to rise by double-digit percentages according to The Warren Group, publisher of The Registry Review.
Statewide, the year-to-date median single-family sale price is $380,000, up 17 percent from the first quarter of 2021. The median condo sale price is up 14 percent, to $285,000.
The increases occurred alongside mortgage interest rates’ steady upward march following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and investors’ reactions to the Federal Reserve’s intent to rein in its economic stimulus measures.
According to Freddie Mac, the average interest rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate home mortgage went from 3.76 percent for the week ending March 3 to 4.67 percent for the week ending March 31. The average hit 5 percent for the week ending April 14, the most recent data available at the time of this writing. The rate began the year at 3.11 percent.
“Monthly payments have increased significantly compared to this time last year, and as housing affordability declines, an increasing number of would-be homebuyers are turning to the rental market, only to face similar challenges as rental prices skyrocket and vacancy rates remain at near-record low,” NHAR said in a statement accompanying its March data release.
Some of the biggest increases are occurring in counties that saw big drop-offs in sales totals. Carroll County saw its first-quarter median single-family sale price spike 30 percent year-over-year, to $362,500, while Hillsborough saw its figure hit $415,000, a 16 percent jump from last year. Fellow home sales powerhouse Rockingham County saw an 18 percent increase, to $512,000.
Rockingham is still the state’s most expensive county.