Buying a median-priced house in New Hampshire last month with the prevailing interest rate created a monthly mortgage that was about $540 cheaper than in October but about $360 more than a year ago.
But that didn’t stop 28 parties over four days who toured a four-bedroom home in Concord for sale last week, according to Realtor Moe Archambault.
Five put in bids — all above the $489,900 asking price.
“It still shows a huge demand for housing,” said Archambault, principal of Moe Marketing Realty Group in Laconia.
Interest rates have backed off their peak from October, but the median-priced house in New Hampshire sold in January for $445,000 – $35,000 more than a year earlier with interest rates still higher in early 2024.
Buying a house last month for $445,000 with 5% down with a 30-year mortgage at 6.69% (Freddie Mac rate) produced a monthly mortgage of $2,725 a month, excluding insurance and property taxes. Many homes in the state’s southern tier carry higher price tags.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected this year to cut interest rates, which should trim mortgage rates, but no one knows for sure when.
“Lower rates will help the housing market, on the buyer, seller and builder side,” said Brian Gottlob, director of the state’s economic and labor market information bureau.
“Buyers will be facing lower rates to ease monthly payments, sellers who want to trade up will be facing less “rate lock” or the unwillingness to sell a house with a 3 percent mortgage to buy one at a 7% mortgage,” he said.
“Builders will have lower financing costs as well,” Gottlob said. “Both on the buyer and seller side this should result in an increasing supply on the market.”
Last month, 1,270 homes were for sale across the state, 36 fewer than in January 2023. Last month, 663 home sales in New Hampshire were finalized, or 35 fewer than a year earlier.
“The lack of inventory is still going to be our big factor,” Archambault said.
Archambault doesn’t think lower interest rates will be like turning on a light switch for a flood of new potential buyers.
“I think people are getting used to the fact it’s going to be a new normal and the reality is you’re not going to see 3% interest rates,” he said. “There’s still people who have to move.”
The median price for a condominium rose to $425,000 in January statewide, only $3,000 off the record high set last November.
The median housing price in Manchester stood at $405,000 in January, $45,000 higher than a year earlier. Last month, there were 43 homes sold in the Queen City versus 37 in January 2023.
Figures can swing widely in a given month.
In Bedford, the median priced home sold for $610,500 in January, with seven sales closed. In January 2023, the nine homes that sold had a median sales price of $759,900 – about $150,000 higher.
