HAMPTON — A red-hot real estate market has prices soaring sharply across most of the nation, and according to the recent town-wide property revaluation, Hampton is no exception.
The state requires property revaluations every five years in Granite State communities, and Hampton’s was recently completed. On average, preliminary results indicate that overall Hampton property values rose an average of 53%, according to Paul McKenney, of Municipal Resources Inc. , contracted by the town to execute the reassessment.
But that’s not the whole picture, said McKenney, who stressed property owners should not panic. When property values go up, he said, if municipal budgets remain stable, the tax rate may very well drop. Tax rates in New Hampshire are set for each community by the state Department of Revenue Administration, and that isn’t done until October.
“People shouldn’t automatically think their tax bills are going to go up 53%,” McKenney said. “It’s been my experience that (after a revaluation) about one-third of property owners see their taxes go up, one-third stay the same, and one-third can go down.”
Property valuation is based on property sales prices over a specific period. In Hampton’s case, MRI analyzed 700 sales of residential, commercial and industrial properties from April 1, 2022, to March 1, 2024, McKenney said.
From the analysis of those sales, McKenney calculated the worth of all town property combined rose from $4,225,390,500 to $6,458,182,000, an increase of $2,232,791,000.
However, not all real property experienced the same rise, McKenney said. Some will be higher, others less. Much depends on the state of property, any improvements made and, of course, “location, location, location,” he said.
Although the town-wide preliminary increase in value is 53 percent, McKenney said the average rise for single-family dwellings – which includes condos, two- and three-family homes – is 59%.
Industrial and commercial properties – the latter including apartment buildings with four or more units – rose 38%, McKenney said.
Although he does not break out the increases in valuations among beach properties, he said what is being considered the beach neighborhood is growing geographically. Where once only homes along the oceanfront and those one or two streets back fell into that category, recent sales show homes farther inland are selling at beach property prices.
Mobile homes witnessed the sharpest increase in value, rising 80 percent in Hampton, based on the 31 sales McKenney analyzed. It’s a trend found in other communities McKenney assessed, such as North Hampton, Hampstead, Newmarket and Exeter.
“In Exeter, the value of mobile homes rose 149 percent,” McKenney said. “An old mobile home in Exeter can sell for $100,000.”
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The small inventory of starter homes for sale is what’s driving up prices for mobile homes, he said, which are seen as the lowest point of entry in real estate.
Although some hoped rising mortgage interest rates would tame the market, McKenney hasn’t seen high rates slow the increase in home prices.
“Homes might be staying on the market a little longer,” he said. “Instead of selling in a week, they’re selling in a month. But prices are still rising from 10 to 12 percent a year.”
McKenney said real estate brokers are telling him they still get multiple offers for the same property.
“It’s still very much a bidding situation,” McKenney said. “In a lot of cases, we see cash offers for properties coming from out-of-state buyers. That’s especially true on the Seacoast.”
Much of the escalation in real estate values over the past five years is attributed to the economic principle of supply and demand. There is a small inventory of available properties for sale in the Granite State, but a large population of people that want to buy. Along the Seacoast, that’s exacerbated by the many buying second or vacation homes here, he said.
Architectural style no longer plays a significant role in marketability. Five years ago, McKinney observed that ranch homes sold better than multi-story dwellings due to a large, older population seeking one-level living. However, this is no longer the case. With inventory so limited, people are buying whatever becomes available, he said.
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New home values mailed out
According to McKenney, MRI began mailing out the 2024 preliminary assessed values to property owners on Monday, July 29. In addition, valuation books are publicly available at Town Hall, the Hale Library and the town’s website, so property owners can look up the value of other properties to gauge where their properties stand when compared to others.
Those with questions or who feel their assessment doesn’t reflect true market value, can schedule an informal review at Town Hall with an MRI staff member, by calling 1-603-279-0352, ext. 404, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The deadline to request an informal hearing is August 19, with reviews to begin August 14.
Further instructions on how to schedule an appointment – in person, by phone, or in writing – are included in the preliminary assessment mailing, as is other valuable information about the revaluation process.
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This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Hampton property values skyrocket by 53% amid red-hot real estate market
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