Dec. 23—Kendra Lebwohl sold her condo in downtown Boston in June and looked at relocating to downtown Portsmouth. But instead she moved into a Greenland townhouse last month.

"You've got the proximity of all the amenities that you'd want from Portsmouth downtown, but it's just calmer here," said Lebwohl, who works from home.

Lebwohl, 46, bought a newly built, two-bedroom townhouse with a dedicated office for north of $700,000. She is less than a 10-minute drive from downtown Portsmouth.

Adjacent to Portsmouth and Great Bay, Greenland saw the second-highest spike in the median price for a home this year of any community south of the White Mountains, according to a New Hampshire Sunday News review.

Visiting Greenland on a recent day, Ingrid Nicholson, who works for the nonprofit volunteer group Safe Families for Children, called the town's $890,000 median price "crazy."

The statewide median price for a house hit a record milestone this year, but prices grew by vastly different amounts town by town, sometimes by large spreads in adjoining communities.

The changes varied from an increase of $592,500 in Waterville Valley to a decrease of $38,000 in Seabrook, according to sales data provided by the New Hampshire Association of Realtors.

Of more than 115 communities, only six registered decreases in 2022. One stayed even.

Higher prices and doubled interest rates this year made home purchases less affordable.

A family looking to buy a median-priced house this year — $442,524 — would need to earn about $126,000 annually to afford paying just the 30-year mortgage's principal and interest. It would require $150,000 if including an allowance for property taxes and home insurance, according to New Hampshire Housing.

Both numbers are more than $50,000 higher than if that family bought a median-priced home last year, assuming a 5% down payment, which is typical for a first-time buyer.

"The ability of people to buy new homes is diminished" from a year ago, said Rob Dapice, executive director and CEO at New Hampshire Housing.

Part of the problem is that builders are not putting up enough new housing.

Statewide, communities in 2020 issued building permits for 4,446 housing units — twice as many as this century's low in 2011 but less than half the number from 2003, according to New Hampshire Housing.

Many families can't afford to buy a house — or even find a place to rent. Others struggle to scrounge up the first month's rent and security deposit, according to Nicholson.

"Even if they can afford it, they can't find a place to live," she said.

Here's how prices varied by community clusters in three areas across New Hampshire this year:

The Seacoast

The two places in the southern tier where median home prices grew by the highest dollar amount are on the Seacoast: North Hampton and Greenland.

Greenland's median price increased by nearly a quarter-million dollars during the first 10 months of 2022 over the same period a year earlier — nearly five times more than the price rise statewide.

Greenland often isn't on a homebuyer's map, said Evan Douglass, an agent at Proulx Real Estate at Keller Williams Coastal Realty.

"Sometimes, they start looking in Portsmouth and then they see the prices and they say, 'Oh, what is around Portsmouth?' " Douglass said.

Last year, Greenland, Portsmouth and North Hampton had median prices within $22,400 of each other. This year, that gap is 10 times as much, with Greenland in the middle.

"People want to be close to Portsmouth; the next town over is Greenland," said John Rice, a Realtor and chief statistician for the Seacoast Board of Realtors.

"Greenland is one of those towns that offers a rural feel," Rice said. "It has nice athletic facilities, a good little school system," and "you're not that far from downtown Portsmouth."

Greenland generally has a 1.5-acre minimum for house lots.

But Jay Lajeunesse, owner of River Birch Builders in Portsmouth, was able to build nine townhouses — including the one Kendra Lebwohl bought — and renovate an 18th-century farmhouse on two acres in Greenland thanks to a small high-density district where more housing units are allowed. That's because that area of town is connected to Portsmouth's municipal water system, while most of the town relies on wells and septic.

"The bonus on high-density development is you can really impact the housing supply with a smaller piece of land, and land is hard to come by, especially on the Seacoast," he said.

Greenland isn't the only hot spot.

"The entire market right here in the southeast part of Rockingham County, not just our town but all of our surrounding towns, all of them are experiencing very high sale prices," said Paul Sanderson, Greenland's town administrator.

"Together, we are much more of a consistent market," Sanderson said.

Douglass said builders and real estate agents "rely heavily" on comparisons to similar projects in neighboring communities to help set their prices. Appraisers do the same in determining a house's market value, which is used to calculate a borrower's mortgage, Douglass said.

A similar townhouse in Portsmouth was selling for $200,000 more than those in the Greenland development, called Farmhouses at Founders Square, Douglass said.

"If someone wants to be walking distance to downtown Portsmouth, they're going to buy downtown Portsmouth. But someone who wants to just be around Portsmouth, they're open to North Hampton and Greenland," Douglass said.

North Hampton's median-priced house hit $975,000 this year, more than 50% higher than just a year ago.

Unlike Greenland, North Hampton affords ocean views. It had 24 homes sell for at least $1 million this year, compared to 15 last year.

"I think North Hampton buyers are looking for a more 'country' lifestyle, yet close to all amenities," Rice said. "It's closer to Massachusetts and the greater Boston area as well. We see the bulk of our buyers from Massachusetts, New York and California."

Merrimack Valley

Candia's home prices increased by 31% to $575,000 this year, double the price rise in next-door Auburn.

"I think people might have gotten priced out of Auburn and bumped into the next town over," said Realtor Moe Archambault. "Probably why you achieved a spike in these towns is that people don't move in and out very often."

Just south of Manchester, prices grew by only $30,000 in Litchfield, which saw 31 fewer homes sell this year, compared with 2021.

That "probably points to a lack of development," said Archambault, owner and broker at Moe Marketing Realty Group in Bedford.

Reggie Moreau, owner of RJ Moreau Family Properties in Manchester, is planning to build 66 townhouses in Litchfield on 40 acres off Route 3A.

"We're just waiting on state approvals and have been for a long time," Moreau said.

"The rental market is so strong," Moreau said, that he decided to rent the units rather than sell them.

Current market rate rent is $2,500 to $3,000 a month, but he hasn't decided on what to charge. He hopes the first tenants can move in by late spring.

Builders face many challenges, including securing local approvals.

Chester greenlighted a 64-home subdivision, but Moreau needs approval from the town next door.

"The access to the neighborhood is in Candia, and Candia would prefer not to have that access on a road in Candia," Moreau said.

Builders can't build homes fast enough to meet demand.

"We've got projects that were sold out ahead and could sell further ahead," Moreau said. "We're limiting the number of houses that we're building based on our ability to get them done."

Highway access plays a role in living in Candia, according to Realtor Rachel Eames.

"It just has a lot going for it, proximity-wise," Eames said. Route 101's Exit 3 provides easy access to Manchester and the Seacoast.

"You can still buy that much more (house) in Candia than on the Seacoast," said Eames, owner/broker at RE/MAX Capital Realty in Concord and RE/MAX Coastal Living in Newmarket.

"People do like Candia because of the school district" and the option to send high school students to Pinkerton Academy in Derry, according to Greg Powers, an agent with Keller Williams Realty Metropolitan in Bedford.

Five homes sold for $695,000 or higher this year in Candia, including two for more than $1 million.

Candia's sales ranged from $329,900 for a 62-year-old Cape to $1.25 million for a house built in 1985 on almost 10 acres of land.

The Lakes Region

Home prices in the Lakes Region often depend on proximity to water or spectacular views.

Neighbors Moultonborough, Tuftonboro and Wolfeboro run from north to south along the eastern shore of Lake Winnipesaukee.

Why did the median price fall in Moultonborough by nearly $15,000 while Tuftonboro and Wolfeboro grew by more than $120,000 each?

It's all about the water.

Moultonborough had 29 waterfront sales this year, compared to 45 in 2021.

Moultonborough also had a dozen fewer homes sell for $1 million or more this year.

"It shows you waterfront isn't selling as much up there" in Moultonborough, said Realtor Adam Dow, CEO of the Dow Realty Group at Keller Williams Realty, which covers the Seacoast to the North Country.

Waterfront homes generally fetch more money, so fewer sales can drag down the median price.

This year's sales in Moultonborough ranged from a remodeled, two-bedroom home on five acres for $215,000 to a seven-bedroom waterfront mansion with seven times more square footage for $8.1 million.

Wolfeboro saw four times as many homes as last year sell for $1 million or more. And 17 waterfront homes sold this year, compared to three last year.

Tuftonboro saw a drop in waterfront and million-dollar-plus homes in 2022.

Tuftonboro's sales this year included a $9.4 million property on Lake Winnipesaukee and a $3.25 million home on the Big Lake, as well as a home on Aspen Drive for $160,000.

Looking ahead

People waiting for home prices to drop substantially shouldn't count on relief in the coming half-year.

"Unfortunately, I don't think six months is going to make a difference for folks locked out of the market right now," Eames the Realtor said. "My best advice is to continue to save and continue to work on their credit if that is a situation they find themselves in, so hopefully things will change, but I don't think six months will do it."

mcousineau@unionleader.com