Solid increase in monthly homes sales reported again in N.H.

Two newly released reports both show that New Hampshire residential home sales continued to rise in August, but they differ on whether median price is the same as or lower than last year.

A New Hampshire Association of Realtors report found that there were 1,367 home sales in August 2012, a 22 percent increase from the 1,122 residential unit sales in August 2011. That percentage nearly matched the 23 percent year-over-year rise reported by RE/MAX of New England, which said the number of residential sales rose from 1,366 to 1,680 since August 2011.But while the Realtors' report said that, for the first time this year, the median sale price in August of $210,000 was level with the same month last year, the RE/MAX report showed a 0.9 percent dip in August median price year over year, from $199,250 to $197,550.In August, according to the Realtors report, year-over-year median price increased in six of the state's 10 counties. The largest percentage gain was in Coos, where the median price rose 63 percent from $67,000 in August 2011 to $109,000 in August 2012, followed by Merrimack County, which saw a 15 percent rise from $169,800 to $195,500.The counties seeing the largest percentage drop in median price were Carroll County, where the median price fell 37 percent from $250,000 last August to $158,370 in August 2012, and Grafton County, where there was a 19 percent decline from $195,000 to $158,000.Every county experienced an increase in unit sales in August, ranging from 9 percent in Grafton County to 41 percent in Sullivan County, according to the Realtors' report.

Through August, there have been 8,413 home sales in the state, 21 percent ahead of the 6,973 sold in the first eight months of 2011, according to the Realtors' data.

"We do not predict the future, but it is fair to say that this improved median price trend is not surprising, considering the sales numbers we've been witnessing this year," said John Rice, president of the Realtors Association.

The association found an increase in the number of condo units sold, but median price fell. There were 309 condos sold in New Hampshire in August, up 26 percent from the 246 sold in August 2011. Median price, however, fell 6 percent year over year, from $162,000 to $152,000.