May bankruptcy filings remain steady in New Hampshire

Total of 170 is the same as last year

Some 170 New Hampshire households and businesses filed for bankruptcy in May, the same number as a year ago, and only four fewer than May 2016 – further evidence that filings have settled into a two-year plateau.

The number of bankruptcies skyrocketed during the recession, peaking in 2010 at nearly 460 a month. But that number fell into double-digit declines for the next five years, slowing a bit to a 9 percent decrease in 2016. In 2017, bankruptcy filings actually rose 1 a percent, and so far this year, they are is down 1 percent, averaging 150 a month.

But there is still some volatility from month to month. There were 27 more filings this year in May than April, an 18 percent jump.

There were seven business-related filings in May compared to two in April and 11 in March. Six of the seven May filings were household filings with business-related debt. Only one filing was by a business itself, and that is a filing to reorganize debt, meaning the business might continue as a going concern.

That business was Sanfred Realty LLC, Milford, which filed May 19 for Chapter 11 protection. Its assets totaled $382,000, and liabilities $427,000.