New Hampshire’s housing market has recorded median home prices exceeding $500,000 for the sixth consecutive month.

In August, the median price for a single-family home was $515,000, a new high for the month and a 9.8% rise from July 2023, according to the New Hampshire Association of Realtors.

A constrained supply of available homes largely drives this prolonged price climb.

While the number of homes on the market has been gradually increasing, with 2,329 listings available at the end of August — up 28% from the previous year — the inventory remains significantly lower than a decade ago.

But that’s still nearly 10,000 fewer than were on the market exactly 10 years earlier. With the current inventory, it would only take 2.3 months to sell off the current housing stock, making it a seller’s market.

“Increased supply will go a long way to meeting the demand of all buyers, especially those first-time buyers who make up 32 percent of sales,” Joanie McIntire, NHAR president, said.

In Merrimack County, the median home price climbed from $470,000 in July to $510,000 in August. Despite this rise, prices are still higher than the median recorded price a year ago in August.

Bow had the highest median home price in August at $711,907, followed by Webster at $576,000, Dunbarton at $562,000 and Concord at $448,500.

Rockingham County saw the highest median price in the state for August at $644,000.

To address the housing crunch, experts call for re-evaluating zoning ordinances. Towns like Hopkinton, which currently require a three-acre minimum lot size for new homes, are under pressure to reconsider these rules to facilitate more affordable housing development.

“A good starting point will be to make the path to development less challenging,” said McIntire. “Re-examining and altering outdated zoning rules will help create more affordable homes for the workers we need for a strong New Hampshire economy.”