Market Spotlight: Portsmouth, NH — A Decade of Real Estate Data | Bentley's Real Estate

Market Spotlight

Portsmouth, NH

New Hampshire's crown jewel of coastal living — where colonial history meets world-class dining, and a million-dollar market keeps accelerating.

The Community

400 years of character, one red-hot market

Founded in 1623, Portsmouth is one of the oldest cities in America and the cultural capital of New Hampshire's Seacoast. With roughly 22,500 residents, a median household income of $106K, and 64% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher, it's one of the most educated and affluent small cities on the East Coast. The historic downtown — anchored by Market Square, the Music Hall (1878), and Strawbery Banke Museum — draws visitors from across the country, while the dining scene routinely earns national recognition.

But Portsmouth isn't just a destination — it's a fiercely competitive real estate market. Single-family prices have doubled from $500K to over $1M. Condos have surged from $460K to $1M. Multi-family has exploded from $528K to $1.2M. And the city currently has just 17 active SF listings. No state income tax. No state sales tax. A walkable downtown that rivals any in New England. The Treaty of Portsmouth brought Teddy Roosevelt here in 1905 to broker peace between Russia and Japan. Today, buyers from Boston, New York, and beyond are making their own strategic move — into Portsmouth.

Here's a decade of data across all property types.

~22,500

Population

$1.04M

Avg SF+TH Sale

$1.03M

Avg Condo Sale

$1.2M

Avg MF Sale

$106K

Median HH Income

Active SF Listings

Sales Volume

A decade of rising demand, tightening supply

Total new listings and closed sales per calendar year in Portsmouth (all residential). Volume peaked in 2020 with 414 sales. Average active inventory has collapsed from 119 in 2016 to just 17 SF listings today.

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In 2016, the average single-family home in Portsmouth sold for $500K. Today it's $1.04M — a 108% increase. Condos have surged 123% from $460K to $1.03M. And multi-family has more than doubled to $1.2M. Every property type in Portsmouth is now in the million-dollar club.

No income tax. No sales tax. All the demand. That's the New Hampshire advantage — and Portsmouth is ground zero.

Pricing Dashboard

Single-family + townhouse pricing

Average sale prices for SF+TH closings in Portsmouth, benchmarked against average and median from the monthly activity data. The luxury segment is pulling averages increasingly above medians.

All Property Types

SF, Condo & Multi-Family

Average sale prices across all three property types over the past decade. Every segment has crossed or approached the million-dollar mark. Multi-family volume is small (10-23 sales/yr) but the appreciation has been dramatic.

Inventory

The supply squeeze

Average monthly active listings per year. Portsmouth went from 119-147 listings (2016-2019) to a crisis-level 71-81 during 2021-2022. Inventory has recovered slightly but remains far below pre-pandemic norms.

Market Speed

Days on market & sale-to-list ratio

Estimated average days on market alongside the sale-price-to-list-price ratio for SF+TH. In 2022, Portsmouth hit 100.5% — the average home sold ABOVE asking.

Why we love serving Portsmouth

Bentley's Real Estate is licensed in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine, and we've been actively serving clients across the border for years. Portsmouth is a natural extension of our Seacoast expertise — many of our Greater Newburyport clients are also exploring Portsmouth, and vice versa.

What makes Portsmouth irresistible is the combination of things you can't replicate: a 400-year-old walkable downtown with nationally ranked restaurants (Cure, Moxy, The Black Trumpet), a thriving arts and theatre scene, world-class harbor access, and New Hampshire's no-income-tax, no-sales-tax advantage. Add in proximity to the beaches of Rye and Hampton, easy access to I-95, and a market where every property type has crossed the million-dollar threshold — and you have one of the most desirable coastal markets in the Northeast.

Whether you're a Massachusetts buyer looking to take advantage of New Hampshire's tax structure, a seller sitting on significant appreciation, or an investor eyeing one of New England's strongest rental markets — we bring the same data-driven approach that made us #1 in Greater Newburyport. The Seacoast is our backyard, and Portsmouth is at the heart of it.

Recent Activity

Recently sold in Portsmouth

The latest residential sales in Portsmouth, NH.

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Portsmouth NH Real Estate Market Report

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