Welcome to this month’s edition! In case you missed it, New Hampshire Business Review held a recent webinar at the end of March, a panel of housing and finance leaders discussed what 2025 may hold—particularly when it comes to housing reform and inventory challenges.
Bob Quinn, CEO of the New Hampshire Association of Realtors spoke about New Hampshire’s housing inventory. He outlined how it has plummeted over the last decade. In peak summer months of 2016, over 8,000 homes were on the market. By summer 2024, that number had dropped to about 2,500—a 75% decline. While some argue higher mortgage rates and building costs are the root causes, Quinn pointed to a longer-term trend that predates recent rate hikes, underscoring a more fundamental issue of supply.
Adding to the challenge is affordability. The median home price in the state has jumped from $225,000 in 2015 to over $510,000 in early 2025. That increase far out paces the historical average annual growth of 4–5%, signaling a market that's leaving many potential buyers behind.
To address this, the New Hampshire Association of Realtors, Home Builders, Business & Industry Association, and others are backing asuite of housing reform bills to expand the housing supply and making new construction more financially viable.
Quinn outlined three major reform areas:
- Land Use Reform:
- Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs): Legislation is advancing to allow both attached and detached ADUs by right - eliminating the need for planning board approval.
- Minimum Lot Sizes: New bills aim to stop towns from requiring several acres for a single-family home, making smaller, more affordable lots legal.
- Frontage & Setbacks: SB 170 would limit frontage requirements, which can often block development.
- Regulatory & Permitting Reform:
- The governor is pushing a 60-day permitting cap for state approvals.
- Other efforts include streamlining multi-family design codes and preventing towns from enforcing stricter than state building codes.
- Funding for Housing:
- While funding is seen as the most difficult hurdle due to budget constraints, advocates are still pushing for creative financing mechanisms and budget allocations that support housing development.
Although New Hampshire values local control, housing policy can’t be decided in silos. When one town limits housing, neighboring towns and the broader state economy bear the brunt.
As always, we’re looking for 3-50 unit properties in Southern New Hampshire. If you know if anyone looking to sell, we’d love to talk to them.