Same story: sales down, prices up
Put the market message on a loop, because it hasn’t changed in a while: Sellers’ market, inventory low, closed sales down, and prices on the rise.
Among the statewide highlights:
- Inventory: There were 5,982 residential homes on the market at the end of May, a 27 percent decrease from May 2016. That meant a 4.1 months’ supply, the lowest May in at least 12 years and 28 percent lower than a year ago. The good news: 3,130 new listings came to the market in May, a 5 percent increase from 2016.
- Closed sales: With substantially less inventory, it’s no surprise that the 1,612 closed sales was 4 percent lower than May 2016. On the other hand, condo sales were actually up in May, with a 9 percent increase over a year earlier.
- Median sales price: Sellers continue to have the advantage, leading to a $270,250 median sales price in May, nearly 10 percent higher than 2016. Year to date, the $256,000 through the first five months was just under 7 percent ahead of a year ago.
- Days on market: With those dynamics in place, average days on the market dropped dramatically as well, down to 70 days statewide in May, a 9 percent decrease.
There’s plenty more information where that came from. The New Hampshire REALTORS market report includes 10 different categories and historical data going back to 2006, as well as county-level data. Also included below is the long-term statewide data, dating back to 1998.