NH Business: Rents in NH up $100 to $500 a month for many. Affordability and availability in short supply

BUSINESS. I’M FRED KOCHER. IF YOU RENT YOUR APARTMENT, CONDO OR HOUSE, IT’S LIKELY YOU’VE HAD A RENT INCREASE. A RENTS ARE UP IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. SOME WAY UP. AFFORDABILITY IS IN SHORT SUPPLY. CHANGES IN MONTHLY RENT DURING THE PRIOR 12 MONTHS. TAKE A LOOK AT THIS PIE CHART ON THE RIGHT AND THEN ON THE LEFT SHOWS THE CHANGES IN MONTHLY RENTS DURING THE LAST 12 MONTHS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. THAT’S RESULTED IN AVERAGE RENT INCREASES FROM JANUARY TO MAY THIS YEAR, 5% SAW INCREASES OVER $500, 11% HAD INCREASES BETWEEN 250 AND 531% SAW INCREASES FROM 100 TO 249, 12% HAD INCREASES LESS THAN 132% SAW NO CHANGE IN THEIR RENT, AND 2% SAW A DECREASE. I’D LIKE TO KNOW THAT LANDLORD MORE CHANGES DURING THE PRIOR 12 MONTHS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, 9% OF THOSE RENTING HOMES ON AVERAGE WERE BEHIND ON THEIR RENT AND 20% OF RENTERS AND HOMEOWNERS ON AVERAGE WERE UNABLE TO PAY THEIR ENERGY BILL IN FULL. NEW HAMPSHIRE AVERAGE RENT PRICES IN 2024. HERE THEY ARE. STUDIO APARTMENT 1004 29 ONE BEDROOM, 1005 42 BEDROOM, 1009 66 AND THREE BEDROOM 2004 86 WITH ME TO EXPLAIN WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH RENTS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, IS THE RESEARCH DIRECTOR FOR THE NEW HAMPSHIRE FISCAL POLICY INSTITUTE, PHIL SLETTEN, WHO IS HERE IN THE STUDIO. WELCOME, PHIL. NICE TO HAVE YOU. THANK YOU. FRED, IT’S GREAT TO BE HERE. WHAT IS DRIVING THESE RENTS ACROSS NEW HAMPSHIRE? YEAH. AND THEY’RE QUITE HIGH. THEY’RE A CONFLUENCE OF FACTORS. ONE IS SOME LONGTERM FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH GENERATIONAL SHIFTS, BOTH BABY BOOMERS AND MILLENNIALS WHO ARE STARTING THEIR FIRST HOUSEHOLDS ENTERING THE HOUSING MARKET IN THE LAST 15 YEARS, ARE BEHAVING DIFFERENTLY IN THE HOUSING MARKET. THERE’S THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC SPURRING MORE PEOPLE TO MOVE TO RURAL AREAS. THERE’S ALSO AN UNDERBUILT RING OF HOUSING IN NEW HAMPSHIRE OVER MOST OF THE LAST 15 YEARS. IF WE LOOK AT EMPLOYMENT AND CONSTRUCTION IN NEW HAMPSHIRE IN 2004 AND COMPARED TO 2010, AFTER THE GREAT RECESSION, WHICH HAVE AFFECTED THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY QUITE A BIT, OVERALL EMPLOYMENT WAS DOWN 3%. CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYMENT WAS DOWN 25%, RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYMENT IN 2012 WAS DOWN 40%. IT’S TAKEN A LONG TIME FOR THOSE INDUSTRIES TO RECOVER, AND RENT CAN BE INCREASED, CONTINUE TO BE INCREASED NOW BECAUSE OF THE STILL INCREASING HOUSING PRICES. IT’S BECOMING MORE AND MORE EXPENSIVE FOR PEOPLE TO BUY HOMES, WHICH MEANS THEY MAY BE STAYING IN THE RENTAL MARKET INSTEAD. RIGHT? SO THIS IS HAVING IMPACTS ON THE WORKFORCE, ESPECIALLY YOUNG WORKFORCE THAT ARE TRYING TO FIND A PLACE TO LIVE IN ORDER TO WORK. YES, ABSOLUTELY. AND NEW HAMPSHIRE HAS HISTORICALLY RELIED ON IN-MIGRATION TO GROW OUR POPULATIONS. AND RIGHT NOW THERE ARE MORE DEATHS THAN BIRTHS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. SO WE CONTINUE TO RELY ON PEOPLE MOVING HERE TO GROW THE POPULATION AND GROW THE WORKFORCE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, IF WE DON’T HAVE HOUSING, IT’S GOING TO BE MORE AND MORE DIFFICULT FOR PEOPLE TO MOVE HERE IN ORDER TO GROW THE WORKFORCE AND THE POPULATION. WAS THERE ANY HELP FROM THE STATE LEGISLATURE THIS SESSION, WHICH IS JUST WRAPPED UP? DID THEY HAVE DID THEY GIVE ANY HELP TO THE HOUSING MARKET WHATSOEVER? YES. SO THERE WERE SOME CHANGES AROUND THE RULES RELATED TO MUNICIPAL ZONING THAT WOULD ALLOW MORE EXPEDITED ZONING CHANGES, UM, CHANGES RELATED TO SPRINKLER SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS, PERMITTING OF NEW DRIVEWAYS AND UM, AND PARKING REQUIREMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH, FOR EXAMPLE, ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS. THAT BEING SAID, THIS WAS NOT A BUDGET YEAR. SO LAST YEAR IN 2023, WE SAW A ROUGHLY $50 MILLION INVESTMENT IN HOUSING AID AND INITIATIVES IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. THIS WAS NOT A BUDGET YEAR. IN 2024. WE’LL SEE WHAT THE 2025 LEGISLATURE BRINGS WHEN THEY’RE DISCUSSING THE NEXT STATE BUDGET. YOU DO A LOT OF RESEARCH INTO HOUSING. UH, IF YOU LOOK AT THE OVERALL HOUSING ISSUE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, WHAT, UH, PROBABLY, UM, IS LOOKING FOR A SOLUTION. THE MOST. SO THERE ARE A CONFLUENCE OF, OF, UM, UH, SOLUTIONS THAT WOULD HAVE TO BE DEPLOYED TO COMPREHENSIVELY ADDRESS THIS ISSUE. AND THAT’S BOTH PRIVATE SECTOR AND PUBLIC SECTOR, AND BOTH FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. THEY’RE ALL INVOLVED IN THE HOUSING MARKET. AND THAT IS INCLUDING SHORT TERM AID TO ALLOW PEOPLE WHO ARE PARTICULARLY LOWER INCOME RENTERS WHO ARE QUITE COST BURDENED BY THE COST OF RENT MAKING SURE THAT FOLKS CAN STAY IN THEIR HOMES AND DON’T HAVE THE DISRUPTION ASSOCIATED WITH MOVING BECAUSE OF THESE HIGH RENT INCREASES. AT THE SAME TIME, A LONG TERM APPROACH TO TRY AND TACKLE UNDERSUPPLY OF HOUSING AND MAKE SURE MORE HOUSING IS CONSTRUCTED BOTH OF THOSE REQUIRE INVESTMENTS, AND IT’S A MULTI-PRONGED APPROACH. PHIL, TO WRAP UP ON A POSITIVE NOTE, UH, LET’S GO TO THIS GRAPHIC. THE LARGEST SINGLE INVESTMENT IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN MANCHESTER HISTORY. IT’S A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE CITY AND LINCOLN AVENUE COMMUNITIES. 142 UNITS OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING. STUDIO ONE AND TWO BEDROOMS AND 30 UNITS FOR VETERANS, 0% TO 60% OF THE AREA. MEDIAN INCOME, WHICH IS AROUND IN THE 40S OF THOUSANDS, I THINK ZERO TO THE 40S OF THOUSANDS IN DOLLARS. SO MY THANKS TO PHIL SLETTEN, RESEARCH DIRECTOR FOR THE NEW HAMPSHIRE FISCAL POLICY INSTITUTE IN CONCORD, FOR THIS BRIEFING. AND IF Y