Home prices in New Hampshire continued to rise as the fall wound on, according to new data.

As 2021 wound on in October, sale prices of existing single-family homes continued to stay strong according to data from The Warren Group, publisher of The Registry Review. 

Statewide, 1,335 single-family homes sold at a median price of $370,000, the company reported.  

That sales tally represents an 18 percent drop compared to October 2020 and a 16 percent downgrade from October 2019, before the pandemic disrupted normal market seasonality. At the same time, the median single-family sale price was 9 percent higher than that recorded in October 2020 and a 32 percent jump over October 2019. 

Year to date, there have been 11,607 single-family homes sold so far this year, 5 percent off the same figure this time last year and 17 percent down from the tally in October 2019. The year-to-date median sale price is $373,000, a 17 percent jump from where it was just a year ago and a 31 percent hike from October 2019. 

The consistently strong prices racked up in the state’s housing market came as the number of single-family homes for sale and the number of new listings continued to be well below even 2020’s historically low figures. 

The New Hampshire Association of Realtors reported that single-family inventory fell 28.5 percent between October 2020 and October 20221 to 1,721, while the 1,417 homes that hit the market represented a 27.7 percent drop over the same period. 

At the same time, however, data reported by NHAR shows the pace of price increases has slowed over the course of 2021. From a June high of 104.4 percent, the average share of list price sellers received statewide has dropped steadily each month, landing at 101.5 percent in October. Compared to the 100.6 percent recorded one year ago, that figure is up slightly, but up substantially from the 98.1 percent recorded in October 2019. 

NHAR reported that the high prices don’t appear to have dissuaded too many buyers. The number of pending sales this October was down only 4 percent from October 2019, and in September was up 2 percent from the year before. However, pending sales this October were down 9 percent from September 2021, itself down 9 percent from the month prior. 

Nationally, pending home sales rose 7.5 percent month-over-month in October, the National Association of Realtors reported last week, prompting association Chief Economist Lawrence Yun to say a trend is afoot. 

“Motivated by fast-rising rents and the anticipated increase in mortgage rates, consumers that are on strong financial footing are signing contracts to purchase a home sooner rather than later,” Yun said in a statement. “This solid buying is a testament to demand still being relatively high, as it is occurring during a time when inventory is still markedly low.” 

Conditions could remain strong for sellers into 2021. With Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell likely to retain his seat and Fed policymakers indicating that the central bank will only slowly taper off its economic stimulus efforts and wait before acting to raise interest rates, mortgage rates will likely remain low. Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather recently predicted that the average interest rate on a 30-year mortgage will only bob up to 3.6 percent from the 3 percent territory where it’s hovering now. 

The rise, Fairweather said, could add about $100 more per month to the mortgage payment on the median home. The overall effect could be to lower annual year-over-year price growth nationwide to about 3 percent, from the 24 percent increase the American market clocked in May of this year, she predicted.