This story was originally produced by the Concord Monitor. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
New Hampshire home prices edged upward again in August after a slight dip in July, continuing to keep the housing market largely in favor of sellers.
The median price for a single-family home reached $550,000 in August. That followed a July decline to $545,000, down from June’s $569,450.
August marked the 67th consecutive month in which New Hampshire home prices were higher than in the same month a year earlier, according to the New Hampshire Association of Realtors.
As usual, Rockingham County topped the list as the most expensive area to buy a house last month, with a median price of $689,000. In Merrimack County, the median price was $527,500.
In August, median home prices reached $740,000 in Bow, $513,750 in Hopkinton, $507,500 in Concord, and $464,500 in Boscawen — prices that continue to put affordability out of reach for many families.
Experts point to a lack of turnover and available homes for sale as the main driver behind rising prices.
The state recently passed new housing laws that allow property owners to build detached accessory dwelling units and permit residential development in commercial zones, all aimed at boosting the housing supply.
The last time the housing market was considered balanced, with the number of homes for sale roughly matching the number of buyers, was in October 2016.
At that time, the median price of a single-family home was $248,000.
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