In her first speech to lawmakers this week, New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte said the state needed to get its housing policies in order, or else young people will find themselves unable to afford to live in the state.
Fresh data shows just how out of reach the housing market has become for many potential homebuyers.
The median sales price for a single family home at the end of 2024 reached $514,000, a 71% increase since 2019, when the median price hit $300,000, according to the New Hampshire Association of Realtors.
“The greatest obstacle continues to be the lack of inventory, and the subsequent lack of affordability,” said Susan Cole, a realtor in the Upper Valley and current president of the New Hampshire Association of Realtors.
The group’s data show that the overall number of home sales ticked up 3.6% last year, and that the average length of time a house sat on the market climbed slightly — from 26 to 28 days. But a shortage of available housing stock is forcing buyers to consider longer commutes and less square footage than they may have wished for.
The tight market is further constricted by people worried about putting their own homes on the market.
“Many times, people are concerned about ‘where can I go if I put my home on the market?’ Many times they don’t feel that they could stay in the same community,” said Cole.
High mortgage rates also continue to keep some buyers out of the market.
In her inaugural remarks before lawmakers Thursday, Ayotte said the state needs to “get serious” about housing regulations by modeling good behavior to cities and towns, and by enforcing a 60-day turnaround on state permits for new housing projects.
She also promised to “strengthen new and existing partnerships” between the state, cities and towns and the private sector to get new housing units built.
Year-end data shows every county in New Hampshire saw housing prices continue to climb in 2024, but there were pockets of the state with outsized growth. Sullivan County recorded a 13.2% jump in the median price to $386,000, while Carroll County saw prices climb 1.1% to $470,000.
