Gross New Hampshire apartment rent for a two bedroom nearly $1,000 per month

June 28, 2004 - New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority

Bedford, NH – New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority today released its latest survey of rental costs across the state. The survey shows that the decade-long trend of rising rental costs continues with the statewide median two-bedroom gross rent reaching $978, nearly five percent higher than last year’s median of $932. The median cost for all size apartments statewide is $896, up from the figure of $854 from a year ago.

“The increasing cost of both rental and for-purchase housing is a clear indication that the supply of housing, particularly in southern New Hampshire, continues to fall far short of demand,” remarked Claira P. Monier, Executive Director of New Hampshire Housing.

The highest rents in the state are found in the state’s southern region, with Rockingham County’s median cost of $1,046 for a two-bedroom apartment being the highest gross rents of any county, although Rockingham is closely followed by Hillsborough County at $1,036. Three of those counties’ larger communities, Manchester, Nashua and Portsmouth, all top $1,000 in median rental costs for a two-bedroom apartment.

Nine out of the state’s ten counties have shown rent increases of at least 20% over the past five years. During that period, the highest percentage increase, 38.9%, was in Grafton County; Belknap and Carroll Counties also both had 5-year increases of over 35%. At 19.3%, Coos is the only county that had less than a 20% or greater increases in rental costs since 1999.

Monier further stated that the rising cost of rental housing can be tied directly to a critical shortage of rental housing noting that, while the state’s economy and population grew significantly during the last decade, there continues to be insufficient construction of new multi-family housing units. Further, rental cost data gathered for the survey demonstrates that as the rents in the southern Hillsborough and Rockingham counties continue to climb, a wave of demand – resulting in increased rental costs – is reaching further into Merrimack, Strafford and Carroll counties as New Hampshire families move northward to find more affordable housing.

“The results of this rent survey confirm the pressing need for an expanded supply of multi-family rental housing in much of our state, and particularly in the southern tier where the bulk of New Hampshire’s population is centered,” continued Ms. Monier, “This issue must be addressed if we are to maintain a strong and stable environment for continued economic growth.”

The Annual Residential Rental Cost Survey has been conducted each year since 1986. This year’s survey is the result of information gathered on over 32,000 rental units across the state. In order to standardize rental costs, survey results are reported as “Gross Rents” which add the contract rent, the rents paid to property owners, with an allowance for tenant-paid utilities. The most common type of rental housing within the state is a two-bedroom unit. New Hampshire Housing and other public and private organizations use the data collected through the survey to identify needs and establish priorities for housing programs. A complete copy of the survey can be found on the Authority’s web site at www.nhhfa.org.

New Hampshire Housing is a non-profit, public benefit corporation established by the State Legislature. The Authority operates a number of programs designed to assist low and moderate income persons to obtain housing. Since its inception, the Authority has assisted more than 30,000 families purchase their own homes and has been instrumental in financing the creation of more than 10,000 multi-family housing units. More information about single family and multi-family housing programs offered by New Hampshire Housing can be found on the Authority's web site.