The median home price in New Hampshire hit a new record high this summer: $580,000. The last time the state had a balanced housing market, when the number of buyers and available homes was roughly equal, was a decade ago. Vacancy rates for rentals are well below the national average.
So for August’s Big Question, we asked you: How has the cost of housing in New Hampshire shaped your life decisions?
We wanted to know what decisions or sacrifices you’ve had to make because of the housing market in our state. Below are some of your answers.
Suzanne - Bethlehem, NH: The whole housing crisis has been about me loving my home in northern New Hampshire, but it's a very big home, and my children are in the southern part of the state, and I would be thinking about moving closer to them. But I can't trade my very large home for a postage stamp in the middle of the state.
Mimi - Greenland, NH: We went to a lot of open houses, and one of the things we noticed when we were looking was that at the open houses, generally, about 50% of the vehicles had Massachusetts license plates. And one of the other issues was that we were competing with young families. And [for] a couple of houses, we declined to put an offer in on because there were families with kids in tow going through these open houses, and we thought to ourselves, they need this place more than we do. And we also heard a realtor at one open house remarking about how she was having such trouble with her young buyers, getting them into a place because she was dealing with all these retired couples who were coming in as cash buyers and her young families that required a mortgage, couldn't compete in that market. And that made us feel a little guilty. But, you know, that's the game that we had to play to secure housing in New Hampshire.
Roger - Northfield, NH: Well, we are in our early 70s and we are trying to downsize and plan the transitions from owning a big home to smaller, more economical and more reasonable sized housing. We've had some grandchildren born and they live downstate, and we have considered relocating and something that would be closer to our grandchildren and also our doctors who are down in the Manchester area. We have a mortgage on our current house in the about $650 range per month. And when we look at the housing options for even smaller houses than what we live in now, or a condo, it simply does not make economic sense to get out of the situation that we're in. There's less spontaneity to be engaged with family, to go to a soccer game or a school concert, or to interact with our family. And it leaves us frustrated that we can't enjoy this rather fleeting moment in our lives and their lives.
Cherie - Manchester, NH: I just turned 63, an age when one might expect to be independent, but actually I live in a 600-square-foot apartment with two roommates. That's how the shortage of housing and the cost of housing in New Hampshire has affected me and my roommates. We're all in the same boat. I just know that I wouldn't be able to afford any of the other ones that are out there. And as far as buying anything again, there's just no way.
