A lack of New Hampshire housing inventory continued to put a strain on affordability in March, as the median sales price of single family residential homes hit $500,000 for the first time in the state's history.
The result was a 16 percent drop in affordability from a year ago and continued to raise concern that too many are being priced out of the market.
"The problem remains the shortage of available housing that is continuing to make homeownership more difficult than ever for those workers needed to help an economy thrive," said New Hampshire Association of REALTORS President Joanie McIntire.
The New Hampshire REALTORS affordability index dropped to 59 in March, meaning the state's median household income is just 59 percent of what is necessary to qualify for the median-priced home under prevailing interest rates.
That's the lowest March number since NHAR began measuring affordability in 2005. For context, the affordability index was over 150 as recently as March 2017 and has been as high as 200, in 2013.
The lack of housing inventory remains the primary driver for the increased pricing. There were just 1,228 single family residential units for sale at the end of March, a 2 percent drop from a year ago. That's just 1.3 months of housing supply, where a balanced market is considered between five and seven months supply.
McIntire stressed that relief needs to come from policy makers, both at the local and state level.
"The best way to climb out of our current housing shortage is to embrace less restrictive zoning, and to empower private property owners by removing unnecessary red tape," she said.
McIntire pointed to House Bill 1291, which would allow a property owner to create an accessory dwelling unit which could either be attached or detached from the principal residence, as progress.
"Why should a property owner in one town have the ability to construct an ADU so their aging parent can avoid going into a long-term care facility, but a property owner in a neighboring town is prohibited from caring for a parent?" she said.
HB 1291 recently passed the House of Representatives and is next headed to a Senate hearing.
Meanwhile, March unit sales in New Hampshire decreased by 2 percent compared to March 2023, but pending sales increased by 11 percent.
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Questions? Please email Vice President of Communications and Member Engagement Dave Cummings (dave@nhar.com), or call 603-554-7855.