Stoked by better employment than in most other areas of the country and record international exports, the New Hampshire economy is eyeing the New Year with an optimism not seen in many areas of the U.S. That’s not to say the state is out of the woods yet in the financial crisis, but it’s driving a recovery in housing markets.
New Hampshire recorded a record number of foreclosures in 2010 due to the calamity in banking and bankruptcies are at an all-time high with more residents on food stamps than since the Great Depression. Still, the state is aided by low joblessness as employers hire more workers to fill positions.
Home sales were boosted by the federal tax credit but soon slowed as the incentive expired in Manchester, the state’s largest urban area, despite near record low mortgage rates. Higher employment levels should eventually translate to more home sales, but not until consumer confidence improves, which is likely to be later in the year in New Hampshire as the region pulls out of the tough economy. Manchester home sales are projected to increase towards springtime on forecast annual appreciation to average 2.2% for 2011.
Record foreclosures are hurting the market in Concord, the state capital even as businesses increase their hiring of workers. The discounted properties are being sold-off by bankers in an effort to halt the market from declining further, but it’s having a major impact on the Concord housing market and is expected to trouble the economy for
| City | Forecast |
|---|---|
| Manchester | 2.2% |
| Concord | 1.6% |
| Nashua | 1.3% |
| Rochester | 1.8% |
| Dover | 1.4% |
sometime. Average home prices shouldn’t suffer too much in Concord, however, as sales pick-up speed on marginally forecast appreciation of 1.6% for the year.
In the border community of Nashua, adjacent to Massachusetts as part of the Boston metropolitan area the market is helped by a strong core of retirees, who aren’t interested much in making a fast buck on real estate, providing stability for the marketplace. However, the conservative values of the region are also supplying a sort of liaise fair spirit for Nashua, which is forecast to experience a slight rise in home values of just 1.3% in 2011.
In Rochester measures instituted to help in the foreclosure crisis by the federal government haven’t done much good as the community sustains the financial crisis with harder to get mortgage lending and begins to adjust to the new economy with les bank lending. The same is the case in Dover, where home sales rose slightly during the federal tax credit only to slow following its expiration.
However, the slower pace of sales is projected to improve for both communities towards the summer selling season as New Englanders return to the market in search of discount deals on homes. Rochester is forecast to see a rise in average housing prices of 1.8%, while Dover should see a slighter 1.4% rise for the year.