A robust first quarter of New Hampshire home sales was followed up by the most April transactions since 2006, according to data released the end of May by the New Hampshire Association of Realtors.

The report showed a 21 percent increase in sales for April 2012 (979) compared to April 2011 (811) and an 18 percent increase in year to date sales compared to the first four months of last year, signaling that the New Hampshire housing market may be in the midst of a trend toward recovery.

“We’ve seen occasional flickers over the past four or five years, but this appears to be the first real flame,” said NHAR President John Rice, a 40‐year veteran of the real estate industry and an agent with Tate & Foss Sotheby’s International Realty in Rye. “For those of us who have been looking for sustained improvement, this truly feels like a time for optimism.”

Median price has yet to follow suit, down 5 percent in April 2012 ($190,000) compared to April 2011 ($199,000), but Rice reiterated that as supply and demand dictates, he expects consistent unit sales increases to ultimately predict a turnaround in price as well.  “I don’t want to guess in terms of a timetable,” he said, “but if we’re not at the bottom now, I believe that we’re very close.”

In terms of local markets, each of the state’s 10 counties have experienced double‐digit sales increases for the first four months combined, compared to the same period last year.  April‐only sales declined in just Coos and Sullivan counties, while jumping dramatically in most others, including Grafton (44 percent), Belknap (37 percent), Rockingham (29 percent), Hillsborough (28 percent) and Merrimack (23 percent).  Median price for April‐only decreased in seven of 10 counties, with the exceptions being increases in Sullivan (17 percent), Strafford (5 percent) and Carroll (3 percent).

April 2012 data residential

April 2012 data condo

Source:  Press Release, David Cummings, New Hampshire Association of REALTORS® Director of Communications, Concord, NH