Here are the average rental costs for Portsmouth, Dover, Rochester, NH
Local rental prices remain high in an active market, even though the cost of two-bedroom apartments in several coastal and Strafford County communities lagged behind other communities in the Granite State last year, according to a new report from the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority.
According to a new study by the organization, Dover, Portsmouth and Rochester were among the more expensive communities to live in when compared to the average monthly cost of two-bedroom apartments with utilities in 2023. However, in a list of nine selected communities, Portsmouth ranked third most expensive, while Dover ranked fourth and Rochester ranked sixth.
The median monthly price for a two-bedroom apartment in Portsmouth ($2,306), Dover ($2,096) and Rochester ($1,635) is far behind the peak price of $2,923 per month in Lebanon, according to the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority.
Communities in the region were featured in the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority’s report, released Thursday after months of data collection. The order of highest monthly median cost for a two-bedroom apartment in the group in 2023 was Lebanon, Nashua ($2,355), Portsmouth, Dover, Manchester ($1,838), Rochester, Concord ($1,525), Claremont ($1,418) and Keene ($1,331).
The results come after Portsmouth was found to have an average monthly price for a two-bedroom apartment of $2,497 in 2022, topping the list of select communities highlighted in the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority’s 2023 rent report.
“Increased rental costs reflect a tight housing market where high demand for housing is limiting relocation options for both renters and prospective homebuyers,” Rob Dapice, CEO and executive director of the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority, said in the report. “A shortage of affordable rental housing reduces prospective homeowners’ prospects of purchasing a home, as high rents can impact their ability to save for a down payment and other homebuying costs.”
The average total cost of renting a two-bedroom apartment statewide last year was $1,833, a 36% increase over the organization’s annual results five years earlier.
According to Dapice, renters in New Hampshire would need to have an annual income of more than $73,000, or 156 percent of the estimated median renter income statewide, to afford the average cost of $1,833 per month for a two-bedroom apartment with utilities.
“In fact, according to our survey and census data, only 13% of two-bedroom rental apartments are affordable to middle-income renter households, for whom affordable rent would be $1,420,” he said.
The New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority additionally calculates median rents in the state’s 10 counties. In 2023, Rockingham County had the highest median monthly rental cost for two-bedroom apartments at $2,069, up 32% from 2019. Strafford County had the fourth-highest median monthly rental cost for two-bedroom apartments last year at $1,785, up 33% from five years earlier.
“In the June 2024 Granite State Poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, 36% of respondents cited housing as the state’s most important issue – five times more than any other issue,” Dapice’s statement continued. “The other most frequently cited issues were education (7%), immigration (6%) and jobs or the economy (6%). This strong pro-housing stance and the recognition that changes at the state level can remove barriers to housing is critical. In addition, communities that implement zoning reform that supports new construction will help provide housing for our residents, ensuring that our state will continue to thrive.”
The survey does not reflect all rental housing in the state. The New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority requested information from the owners of 18,512 market-rate rental units across the Granite State for its 2024 report, which represents about 12% of all units statewide.
The New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority’s adjusted sample size of rental housing in the 2023 report, which ranges from studio units to four-bedroom units, was 7,853 units from across the state, of which 46% were two-bedroom units.
According to the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority, the median cost of all units of all sizes surveyed in 2023 was $1,691.
However, sample size and inventory availability could play a role in distorting reported costs. The New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority obtained monthly price data from 86 two-bedroom apartments in Lebanon for the recently released report, compared with 195 two-bedroom apartments in Dover, 237 in Portsmouth and 251 in Rochester.
In 2022, the median monthly price for a two-bedroom apartment in Portsmouth was $2,497, the highest among select communities highlighted by the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority.
For all rental units reviewed statewide in 2022, the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority reported that the average monthly cost for a two-bedroom unit in New Hampshire was $1,764, rising to $1,833 in 2023, representing a 3.9% increase from the previous year.
In 2019, the median price for two-bedroom apartments in the state was $1,347, 36% below the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority’s statewide rental market findings from last year.
In 2015, average prices for similarly sized units were significantly cheaper. At that time, a two-bedroom apartment cost $1,069 in Dover, $1,315 in Portsmouth and $996 in Rochester, according to data from the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority.
The average monthly cost of a two-bedroom apartment in New Hampshire was $1,157 in 2015, a difference of $676 from the previous year’s total, the new report says.
The University of New Hampshire Survey Center and K. Kirkwood Consulting, LLC compiled housing cost data from property owners and managers from March through May for the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority’s 2024 report.
