Residential Home Prices See Uptick As Sales Numbers Continue Steady Rise

For the first time in 21 months, New Hampshire residential home sales in September saw an increase in median price to go with the continued trend of increased unit sales, according to data released this week by the New Hampshire Association of Realtors (NHAR).

The median sales price of single family residences sold in September was $199,900, a 2.3 percent increase over the $195,350 median price in September 2011. And monthly unit sales continued to surge,marking the ninth consecutive month of such an increase – 1,140 sales in September 2012, compared to1,060 in September 2011.

Year to date, residential unit sales have increased by 19.1 percent in 2012, while median price for the first nine months is at $200,000, compared with $204,000 after the first nine months of last year.

The 2.3 percent monthly increase was the first median price uptick since December 2010, but NHAR officials say that whereas the 2010 increase was more of an anomaly, this one more likely represents substantive change.

“You have to remember, in 2010 the statistics were still impacted by the dynamic of the home buyer tax credit,” said NHAR President John Rice, a 40-year veteran of the real estate industry and an agent with Tate & Foss Sotheby’s International Realty in Rye. “You couldn’t really establish a trend line during the year before or after the tax credit period, as the sales were skewed by the temporary incentive.

“This time, we’re dealing with more of a natural supply and demand dynamic,” he said. “When sales numbers steadily increase and inventory decreases, market forces are typically going to push prices up,and that’s what we’re witnessing here.”

Locally, five of the 10 New Hampshire counties saw median price increases in September, including a 19percent jump in Belknap County. Eight of 10 counties saw unit sales increases in September, and all 10have increased by at least 15 percent year to date in 2012.