Rent vs buy in New Hampshire
At today's numbers, renting comes out ahead in 2 of the 2 cities of 50,000+ over 7 years.
Renting or buying in New Hampshire's cities
| City | Verdict | 7-year result | Break-even (up to 30 yrs) | Typical home | Rent /mo |
|---|
Our figures draw on Zillow Home Value and Observed Rent indexes. The verdicts come from our rent vs buy method with 20% down across 7 years.
The law in New Hampshire
- Transfer tax when you buyNH Department of Revenue, RSA 78-B
- Transfer tax of $0.75 per $100 of price, charged to both buyer and seller, so $1.50 per $100 in total.
- Homestead exemption for ownersRSA 72:39-b
- No statewide homestead exemption. Towns and cities may adopt elderly exemptions for owners 65 and older.
- Security deposit limit for rentersRSA 540-A:6 and 540-A:7
- Deposit capped at 1 month's rent or $100, whichever is greater. Return within 30 days.
The New Hampshire view
New Hampshire requires owners to pay as they go. Each year, property tax averages 1.66% of value, well above the US rate of 0.94%. And there's no statewide homestead break on top of that. Towns may adopt elderly exemptions, though only owners 65 and up benefit.
Closing comes with a toll. Buyers and sellers each pay the transfer tax of $0.75 per $100 of price. The buyer's half of the tax on a typical $511k home is about $3,833.
The result over 7 years favors renting in the state's two big cities, so there's no surprise. The margins are still thin. Renting leads by $15k in Manchester, while buying breaks even in year 9. The gap is wider in Nashua, at $31k, and break-even comes in year 11.
Buying is a fair bet, in our view, if you can picture yourself in Manchester for ten years. Otherwise, rent. A landlord can't require a deposit of more than 1 month's rent, and it must be returned within 30 days.