There are still plenty of challenges facing New Hampshire’s residential real estate market.

Among the woes are an historically low inventory of homes for sale, lack of new housing construction and ever-increasing home prices that have frozen many first-time homebuyers out of the market.

But real estate agents say data from 2025 – and anecdotal evidence so far this year – indicates that the state is slowly headed toward a more balanced housing market that doesn’t so heavily favor sellers of single-family homes and condos.

“Things seem to be settling down a bit,” said Randy Parker, owner of Maxfield Real Estate in Wolfeboro. “It’s not as big of a seller’s market as it was during COVID and the years right after. There seems to be more balance to the market. I think we’re headed back to something more normal.”

Other brokers and agents echo the “more balance” and “normal” refrain, based on slightly improving sale, inventory and pricing data in 2025 and so far in 2026.

“We appear to be headed back to a market where buyers have a little more leverage,” said Bill Weidacher, operating partner at Keller Williams Realty-Metropolitan, which has offices in Bedford, Concord, Londonderry and Keene.

“While last year was a still a predominantly seller’s market, it was a lot more buyer-friendly. There was a little more inventory, a little more flexibility in pricing and closing dates. There was a little more give and take. We appear to be slowly returning to normal.”

Smaller Price Jumps Ahead?

Not that the state’s real estate market doesn’t have room for major improvements.

“In terms of inventory, we have a long, long way to go,” said Josh Greenwald, owner of Greenwald Realty Group in Keene and the new president of the New Hampshire Association of Realtors. “But we are seeing more positive signs. I see a trajectory headed in the right direction.”

That trajectory includes a slight easing in price spikes for homes.

Granted, median single-family home prices last year rose by about 4.7 percent, hitting $510,000 and setting yet another record high, according to data from the Warren Group, the real estate data analytics firm and publisher of The Registry Review and Boston’s Banker & Tradesman.

But that increase is slightly smaller than in years past – and it appears to be partly the result of a 5.1 percent rise in total closed sales in 2025, after years of relentless declines.

No Strong Geographic Trends

Geographically, there doesn’t seem to be any strong pricing trends in the 2025 data.

Carroll County, which includes the northern shores of Lake Winnipesaukee and some mountain areas to the north, saw its median single-family home price rise by 8.48 percent last year, the highest rate in the state, according to The Warren Group’s data.

But Belknap County, which includes the southern portions of Lake Winnipesaukee, saw its median single-family home prices rise by only 1.3 percent in 2025, the lowest rate in the state.

Median single-family prices in Carroll and Belknap counties last year were $499,000 and $475,000, respectively.

Meanwhile, the state’s two largest counties – Hillsborough (which includes Manchester and Nashua) and Rockingham (Portsmouth and the Seacoast region) – saw price increases hovering just above and just below the statewide 4.7 percent increase, respectively.

Hillsborough’s median single-family price last year was $530,000, while Rockingham’s hit $630,000.

“I didn’t feel there was any part of the state that did better than the other,” said Giovanni Verani, president of Verani Realty, which has hundreds of real estate agents spread across the state.

“It felt like there was a lot of fits and starts across the state last year. The market was slow at the beginning of the year, then it picked up, and then it slowed. Overall, it was a decent year, but it was back and forth throughout the year,” he said.

More Homes for Sale

Part of the reason for slightly easing prices, albeit at an up-and-down pace in 2025, is due to the slight rise in sales and other market factors.

According to the New Hampshire Association of Realtors, new single-family listings last year were up 9.9 percent across the state.

Meanwhile, homes for sale statewide were up 16.1 percent in December compared to the same month in 2024, according to data.

Another positive sign: the average days homes sat unsold on the market increased from 25 days in 2024 to 30 in 2025. That’s still an historically low level, but it does indicate a small easing in the previous frenzied pace of sales in years past, officials say.

Meanwhile, data indicates final sale prices were slightly below asking prices last year, again suggesting a slight easing in home-seller dominance.

Greenwald said buyers are increasingly balking at some of the high prices sellers are initially demanding.

“Buyers are a lot more savvy,” said Greenwald. “They’re a lot more selective. And that’s the way it should be.”

Affordability Wall Reining In Demand

Buyers hitting the affordability wall may explain why there’s a gap between the approximate 5 percent increase in sales and the 9.9 percent jump in new listings last year, said Greenwald.

“A lot of sellers aren’t budging on their asking price. They have overly high expectations, so we’re seeing [homes sit] a lot more days on the market. They’re not selling as fast.”

Verani agreed that many sellers don’t seem to grasp that the ask-and-you-shall-receive days of home prices are mostly over, though quality homes will still fetch high prices and may even spark bidding wars.

“A good property at the right price still sells well,” he said. “But it’s got to be at the right price.”

What’s in store for 2026?

Barring a national economic downturn, most real estate market observers see more of the same: a slight increase in inventory and a more balanced buyer-vs-seller market.

And if interest rates continue to fall, it may well encourage more property owners to put their homes on the market, after years of hesitating to sell if it meant paying higher mortgage rates on their new homes.

“I actually think it’s going to be a good year,” said Verani. “Adjustments are being made in the market. I’m optimistic.”