The Keene Sentinel reported on October 1 on the study we completed for New Hampshire Housing asking whether affordable housing developments affect the sale prices of nearby homes. We analyzed 93 income-restricted or publicly subsidized developments built across the state between 2010 and 2023, including 12 in the Monadnock Region, linked them to 68,488 open market home sales nearby, and finally found no measurable effect.
The Sentinel summarizes the report’s three main takeaways: property values close to affordable housing rose at the same rate as those farther away; nearby home values were stable before, during, and after construction; and values changed at essentially the same rate for homes near developments with and without income restrictions or federal subsidies.
Reporter Mason Rouser spoke with New Hampshire Housing project manager Alexsandra Galanis, who noted that the 12 developments in Antrim, Keene, Rindge, Walpole, West Swanzey, and Winchester showed no significant difference in value trends from developments in Manchester, Concord, and the Seacoast. Urban areas have more affordable housing developments than rural areas, which limits the rural sample, and she said a follow-up study with more rural developments could produce rural-specific results.
Josh Meehan, executive director of Keene Housing, whose organization had one property in the study, told the Sentinel the findings could move local debates away from unfounded concerns and toward the practical questions that come with any new housing.
“I think removing some of the rhetoric that’s not supported in data does free us up to focus on the things that are practical and empirical when we’re thinking about where new housing should be developed.”
Josh Meehan, Executive Director, Keene Housing
Beth Daniels, CEO of Southwestern Community Services, which also had properties in the study, added that affordable and subsidized developments are usually built and maintained to federal standards stricter than what a municipal code requires, and that the data could make the conversation around new affordable housing less fear-based.
The coverage comes as Cheshire County faces a need for almost 3,500 additional housing units over the next five years, a figure the Sentinel drew from our housing forecast for the county, while home prices across the state continue to outpace household incomes.
Read more about the study and its findings in our project write-up, Affordable Housing Study with NH Housing, or download the full report from New Hampshire Housing.
