State revenue got a helpful one-time shot in the arm. Now what?
Analysts fear that once it’s gone for the remainder of the fiscal year, overall revenue will lag unless other accounts, which have been underperforming to date, pick up the pace
Home prices slow in some areas, while affordability crisis persists
As housing costs continue to climb, homeownership has become out of reach for many New Hampshire families. In 2025, the median price of a single-family house in the Granite State reached a record high of $535,000 after an alarming 122% increase over the past decade.
While prices have continued to rise, recent data suggest that price growth may be slowing in some areas of the state. From 2024 to 2025, the statewide median price rose by 4.1%, the smallest annual increase since 2016. This slower rate follows a period of steep increases, fueled largely by limited housing supply across the state. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated housing market pressures, from 2020 to 2021, the median price surged by 17.9%, which was the largest annual increase in recent history.
However, county-level data suggest that price growth remains high in certain regions of the state. From 2024 to 2025, half of the state’s ten counties experienced median price growth rates exceeding 5%, ranging from 5.3% in Cheshire County to a high of 6.9% in Grafton County. In Hillsborough and Rockingham counties, the two most populous counties in the state, median prices increased by 4.7% and 4.2%, respectively, roughly in line with the statewide average. Coos and Sullivan counties were the only counties to experience an annual decline in median prices, at 1.2% and 0.4%, respectively.
Even though price growth has slowed in some areas, affordability remains a challenge for many Granite Staters. Based on the statewide median single-family house sale price, the average statewide property tax rate, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate, and a 5% down payment, a homebuyer in 2025 would have faced a mortgage payment exceeding $3,950 per month, not including any purchasing fees, homeowners’ insurance, and other costs that come with owning a home.
In order to avoid being cost burdened, or pay over 30% of income on monthly mortgage payments, a household would have needed to earn over $158,000, or $76 per hour, in 2025. As of the most recent data from 2024, only about 30% of households in New Hampshire had incomes over $150,000.
Growing affordability challenges have broader implications for the state’s economy and workforce. High housing costs can deter young families and workers from remaining in or moving to the Granite State, thereby constraining economic growth and straining communities. As the state and municipalities begin implementing new housing changes and lawmakers consider more than a dozen housing-related bills this year, both regulatory policy reforms and financial investments could be critical to improving housing affordability for Granite Staters.
Jessica Williams is a policy analyst with the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute. The NHFPI Policy Memo is a partnership of the NH Fiscal Policy Institute and NH Business Review.
