Pre-Foreclosures in New Hampshire Rise in September Amid Unrelenting Housing Pressure

A Look Inside the Lives Behind the Numbers As Pre-Foreclosures Tick Up in the Granite State

At first glance, 49 doesn’t seem like a big number. But for 49 families across New Hampshire this September, it may represent the start of losing something deeply personal, their homes.

Pre-foreclosure activity in New Hampshire rose sharply last month. There were 49 properties reported in the pre-foreclosure stage — a 25.6% increase compared to August’s 39 cases. This month-over-month rise breaks from a broader, more hopeful trend. The September figure is down 17% from the same month last year, when 59 pre-foreclosures were filed.

Behind those numbers lie deeply human stories about frustration, exhaustion, and resilience, a growing cohort of homeowners trying to stay afloat in an unsteady economy. Housing costs remain unrelenting, wages stagnant, and inflation an ever-present shadow.

Behind the Surge: When Inflation and Affordability Collide

For years, New Hampshire has quietly escaped the kind of housing turmoil that gripped places like Florida or Nevada after the 2008 financial crisis. In 2005, there were just two pre-foreclosures in the state.

But then came the crash, and with it, thousands of families lost their homes. At the peak in 2008 and 2012, more than 5,000 properties were in pre-foreclosure in a single year. While those days now feel like a dark chapter from a past many would prefer to forget, today’s housing pressures stem from different, but no less potent forces.

“I haven’t missed a mortgage payment since I bought this house in 2016,” says Tanya Reynolds. A single mother in Manchester who was served a pre-foreclosures notice in August. “But between my son’s medical bills, rent increases around us, and food costing what it does now, I just couldn’t keep up last month.”

Tanya works two jobs, days at a health clinic and evenings at a local diner. Rises in the cost of living have outpaced her income growth. And she’s not alone. Homeowners across the state are caught in a tightening vise of elevated interest rates, persistent inflation, and a shortage of affordable housing that punishes anyone living paycheck to paycheck.

Yearly Trend: A Return to Trouble, But Not Crisis — Yet

As of September, New Hampshire has seen 584 pre-foreclosure filings in 2024. While that’s still down from the 1,408 logged throughout 2023, this year is on pace to close with numbers only slightly lower.

Since the Great Recession, the state’s real estate market had largely stabilized. Annual totals fell dramatically—from 5,081 in 2012 to just 940 in 2014. By 2022, there was only one pre-foreclosures reported for the entire year — essentially a statistical outlier.

But the resurgence in 2023, and the steady stream so far in 2024, could be an early warning sign.

“In many ways, this isn’t about reckless borrowing anymore, it’s about families doing everything right but still falling behind,” said Morgan Hatch, a housing advocate in Concord. “Most of the people we work with aren’t buying second homes or overleveraging on investments. They’re parents and seniors who were priced into tighter corners.”

Understanding the Monthly and Yearly Shift

The 25.6% increase in pre-foreclosures filings from August to September of 2024 is striking and perhaps unsurprising when considered alongside broader economic data. As interest rates have remained elevated in an effort to manage inflation, refinancing options have become out of reach for many families. Larger mortgage payments, spurred by adjustable-rate loans taken on during the low-rate era, are beginning to take their toll.

At the same time, the dip year-over-year compared to last September suggests a pattern still in flux. Some of last year’s filings could have been delayed fallout from pandemic-related financial hardship. With most COVID-era relief programs expiring, the landscape today reflects a raw, unfiltered view of New Hampshire’s housing challenges.