Median price rises again for a New Hampshire single-family home

Price pressures continue to be felt in New Hampshire’s residential housing market.

According to the latest data released by the New Hampshire Association of Realtors, the median price of a single-family home was $305,000 in September, 5.2% higher than September 2018, and the median price of a condo was $233,000, 14% higher than September 2018. It’s possible that the increase will continue, with a good chance that inventory will shrink further as the prime buying season fades.

One key reason is that inventories in both categories continue to shrink. For single-family homes, the Realtors said, there were 5,238 homes on the market in September, down 18.3% from last September, when there were 6,414 homes for sale. On the condo end, there were 955 units for sale in September, 13.3% lower than the 1,101 on the market a year ago.

There is now a 3.5-months supply of single-family inventory, and a 2.3-month supply of condos, the Realtors said. Last year, single-family supply stood at 4.3 months and condo supply was 2.7 months.

The average number of days on the market for single-family homes stood at 50 in September, down from 54 a year ago. As for condos, average days on the market fell to 37 in September, down from 49 a year earlier.

By county for the month, the median single-family sale price rose across the board, save for Carroll County, in September. In Carroll, the median price dropped 8.3%, to $246,750, based on 123 sales. As for increases, they ranged from Merrimack County’s 1.9% increase (based on 182 sales) to 25% in Coos, based on 46 sales.

The picture was pretty much the same for condos, with median price increases reported in nine of the 10 counties. This time, the only drop was seen in Strafford County, where the median fell 14.5%, based on 30 sales.