Prices are still climbing. Homes are just taking longer to get there.
We’re halfway through 2026, and the numbers are in for the first six months. If you’re in Enfield, Grantham, Hanover, Lebanon, New London, Hartford, Norwich, or Quechee here’s what actually happened, and what it means for your next move.
The short version: this is the most balanced Upper Valley market we’ve seen since 2019. Not a buyer’s market. Not the frenzy of 2021. Something in between, where preparation matters more than speed.
The Headline Numbers
Through June 30, 2026, across the counties that make up our market:
| Median Price (H1 2026) | vs. 2025 | Days on Market | vs. 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grafton County, NH Hanover, Lebanon, Enfield, Lyme, Canaan | $483,750 | +6.3% | 51 | +18.6% |
| Sullivan County, NH Grantham, Newport, Plainfield, Cornish | $380,000 | +4.7% | 39 | −7.1% |
| Merrimack County, NH New London, Sunapee, Newbury, Wilmot | $511,000 | +2.2% | 29 | +3.6% |
| New Hampshire statewide | $555,000 | +3.7% | 34 | +9.7% |
| Northwest & Central Vermont | $481,000 | −3.8% | 56 | +27.3% |
Single-family homes. Sources: New Hampshire REALTORS®/PrimeMLS June 2026 Monthly Indicators; Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman Vermont Market Report. The Vermont line covers Chittenden, Addison, Franklin, Grand Isle, Washington, and Lamoille counties — it’s the nearest published regional benchmark, not Windsor County specifically.
What’s Actually Driving This
1. Inventory finally showed up
This is the real story of 2026. Statewide in New Hampshire, there were 2,745 single-family homes on the market at the end of June up 10.7% from a year ago. New listings were up 8.2% year to date. In Vermont, sellers brought 5,584 new listings to market in the first half, a 6.5% increase over 2025 and roughly 16% ahead of 2024.
For four years, the binding constraint in the Upper Valley was that nothing was for sale. That constraint has loosened. Not disappeared loosened.
2. Buyers are absorbing it, but slowly
Pending sales in New Hampshire were up 10.3% year to date, nearly matching listing growth. Buyers are out there. They’re just not sprinting anymore.
Months of supply statewide sat at 2.5 months in June. For context, six months is generally considered a balanced market. We’re still tight by historical standards — but we’re no longer at the two-week-and-gone pace of 2021 and 2022.
3. Homes are sitting longer and Grafton County most of all
This is the number I’d tattoo on every seller’s forehead.
Grafton County single-family homes took an average of 51 days to go under contract in the first half of 2026, up from 43 days a year ago. That’s an 18.6% increase. Statewide the increase was 9.7%. Across the river in Vermont, days on market jumped 27.3%.
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Longer market times don’t mean weak demand. They mean buyers have options and are using them.
4. Sellers are still getting close to asking, barely
New Hampshire sellers received an average of 100.2% of list price year to date, down slightly from 100.3% in 2025. On a $500,000 home, that’s a rounding error.
But that average hides a split: well-priced homes are still going at or above asking, often quickly. Overpriced homes are sitting, cutting, and eventually selling below where they would have if they’d started right. The gap between those two outcomes has widened significantly this year.
Town-Level Reality Check
County data is useful but blunt. Here’s how it tends to shake out on the ground:
Hanover and Norwich remain their own market. Dartmouth and DHMC demand doesn’t track the broader economy the way the rest of the Valley does. Inventory here is still genuinely scarce, and the well-located, move-in-ready listings continue to attract multiple offers. The soft spots are at the very top of the price range and in homes that need real work.
Lebanon is the volume center of the Valley and the most sensitive to rate movement. This is where the extra inventory is most visible and where buyers have the most leverage. It’s also where a well-prepared listing still moves fast, the spread between prepared and unprepared homes is wider in Lebanon than anywhere else I work.
Enfield and Canaan continue to be the value play for buyers priced out of Lebanon and Hanover. Grafton County’s 6.3% price gain likely reflects a good deal of this, buyers stretching outward for square footage and land.
Grantham benefits from Eastman and I-89 access. Sullivan County was the one place where homes actually sold faster this year (39 days vs. 42), largely because the price point a $380,000 county median is where the deepest buyer pool sits.
New London and the Sunapee region posted the most modest price growth of the NH counties at +2.2%. Second-home and lake-adjacent demand has normalized from its pandemic peak. Days on market barely moved.
Hartford, Quechee, and the Windsor County VT towns are dealing with the same dynamic as the NH side, one notch more pronounced. Vermont’s statewide average sale price rose just 1.1% in the first half — the slowest pace in years — and days on market across Northwest and Central Vermont climbed 27%. Quechee’s condo and association market in particular rewards accurate pricing; buyers there are comparison shopping across dozens of similar units.
One note on the condo side: Grafton County condos posted a median of $353,750 year to date, down 9.1% from 2025, with days on market up 25% to 60 days. If you own a condo in Lebanon, Hanover, or Quechee, the pricing math is different than it is for single-family. Don’t assume the headline number applies to you.
What This Means for You
If you’re selling in the second half of 2026
Price it right the first time. I know every agent says this. Here’s what’s different now: in 2021, a mispriced home got corrected by the market in ten days. In 2026, a mispriced home sits for six weeks, accumulates days on market, and then sells for less than it would have at the correct price. The penalty for guessing high has gotten expensive.
Presentation is doing real work. With inventory up 10%, your listing is being compared side by side against more competition than at any point in four years. Photography, staging, and deferred maintenance are no longer optional polish.
Plan for 45 to 60 days, not 15. If your timeline assumes a two-week sale, build in cushion.
If you’re buying
You have leverage you didn’t have 18 months ago. More inventory, more time to think, more room to negotiate on inspection items and closing costs. Use it.
But don’t over-read it. Two and a half months of supply is still a tight market. The good homes — the ones that are priced correctly and show well — are still moving quickly and still drawing competition. Leverage exists on the average listing, not the exceptional one.
Get fully positioned before you tour. Pre-approval, down payment sourced, financing structured. When the right house comes up, the buyer who can move cleanly still wins.
What I’m Watching in the Second Half
Mortgage rates. They held in the mid-6% range through June after dipping toward 6.3% in late June. Most forecasts have them staying in that band through year-end. A meaningful drop would pull both buyers and sellers off the sidelines simultaneously — more competition, but also more inventory. A move back toward 7% would slow things noticeably.
Whether inventory keeps building. New listings led pending sales all spring. If that continues into fall, buyers will have the best selection they’ve had since 2019.
The gap between prepared and unprepared listings. It widened all spring. I expect it to keep widening.
Bottom Line
Upper Valley home values held up through the first half of 2026 — up 6.3% in Grafton County, 4.7% in Sullivan, 2.2% in Merrimack. That’s real appreciation on top of a very strong base.
What changed is the pace. Homes are taking roughly a week to a week and a half longer to sell than they did a year ago — more on the Vermont side. Buyers are more deliberate. Sellers face more competition than they have since before the pandemic.
That’s not a bad market. It’s a normal one. And normal markets reward strategy over speed.
Thinking About a Move?
If you’re weighing a sale, a purchase, or just want to know what your home is actually worth in today’s market, let’s talk. I’ll walk you through the comps for your specific street — not the county average.
Brendan Callahan, Realtor® Susan Cole Realty Group 162 Mechanic St, Ste. 1 · Lebanon, NH 03766 (603) 443-3149brendancallahanre.com
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Data sources: New Hampshire REALTORS® June 2026 Monthly Indicators (PrimeMLS); Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman Mid-Year 2026 Vermont Market Report; Vermont statewide mid-year data (PrimeMLS); Vermont Association of REALTORS® market reports. County figures represent all reported single-family transactions in each county and include towns beyond those listed. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
