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New Hampshire's real estate market looks a lot better than the rest of the country...but that doesn't mean it's great, either
The New Hampshire Association of Realtors came out with numbers today comparing housing sales from this past August to August of 2010 and found an increase of 14 percent. The group also reported that housing prices dropped two percent during the same time.
But these numbers don’t necessarily give the full picture of New Hampshire’s real estate market.
According to Dennis Delay, an economist with New Hampshire Center For Public Policy Studies, it’s better to look at numbers that cover several months. He says if you look at housing prices and sales for 2011 so far and compare them to the same 8 month period in 2010, the picture for the state is not so positive. Continue Reading →
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Census data found New Hampshire households are less about the Benjamins...and all about the Jacksons
The new US Census data released this week shows that New Hampshire’s median household income is among the highest in the country. In fact, we’re one of only eight states where household income is above the national average. Median income in New Hampshire is $61,042.
That may seem like good money, but a closer look reveals that New Hampshire has less income disparity than most states.
“Warren Buffet does not live in New Hampshire, Bill Gates does not live in New Hamsphire, neither does Tom Brady,” says Dennis Delay an economist for The New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies. Delay explains that the reason the state’s household income seems high is because the poverty rate is low. “This is not a state full of millionaires, it is a state full of median income people and a state that lacks poor people.”
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The US Census Bureau released data today showing more kids living in poverty nationwide, but New Hampshire is among a small number of states that did NOT see an increase.
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Nationwide Census numbers show 22 percent of American children are now living in poverty
The Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire found that since 2009, a million more kids are living in poverty. But if you look at that number proportionately, the poverty level for New Hampshire’s kids has remained steady at 10 percent. That’s well below the national average of 22 percent.
“New Hampshire is typically rated one of the top places for children,” says Beth Mattingly, Director of Research on Vulnerable Families at the Carsey Institute. “What New Hampshire has going for it is a high standard of living, higher household incomes and generally a highly educated population.”
Mattingly’s analysis of the new Census numbers found that the highest rates of child poverty are in the state’s central urban areas, at 16 percent. The rates are lowest in the suburbs, where they’re around six percent.
Along with New Hampshire, several other states saw their child poverty rates remain the same. Overall, New England made a good showing, with Rhode Island and Maine holding steady. Wyoming, South Dakota, Colorado, Arkansas, West Virginia, and Delaware were among the other states that didn’t see a rise.
New England tends to have lower poverty rates overall. But Mattingly points out that while some states did not show an increase, they still have high rates of children living in poverty,
“Maine is a very different state than New Hampshire, and even though it didn’t see an increase, its child poverty rate is already high at 18 percent.” she says.
The Carsey Institute plans to look at the new Census numbers to find out who lacks health insurance in New Hampshire and in the rest of the country.
