Did Salem home prices fall 12% in a single month? New Hampshire REALTORS' Local Market Update for September 2026 shows a median single-family sale price of $579,500 in Salem, down 12.2% from $660,000 a year earlier. That figure came from 26 closed sales. Over the first nine months of 2026, the median was $628,000, which is 1.3% higher than the same stretch of 2025. Total sales volume was close to flat at $120.9 million, against $121.2 million the year before.
Salem prices have not dropped. Homes are taking longer to sell, and sellers are no longer getting over asking as a matter of course. If you're comparing Salem with nearby towns this fall, those two changes will shape your offer far more than the monthly median does.
Twenty-Six Sales Can't Carry a Headline
A median is simply the middle house. When a town closes 18 to 30 single-family sales in a month, a few higher-end homes closing one month and a few starter homes closing the next can move that middle point by tens of thousands of dollars. This doesn't require any home to change in value. The report includes the same warning in its own footnote: percent changes "can sometimes look extreme due to small sample size."
Here are Salem's last three months:
| Salem single-family, 2026 | Closed sales | Median sale price | Change vs. prior year | Median list price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July | 29 | $700,000 | +6.9% | $720,000 |
| August | 18 | $620,000 | −6.4% | $564,900 |
| September | 26 | $579,500 | −12.2% | $649,950 |
Look at the last column. In August, the median list price fell 8.8% from the year before. In September, it rose 22.7%, during the same month the median sale price fell 12.2%. Over one month, those two figures moved in opposite directions by more than a third. They are measuring different sets of houses, and each set is small enough to change shape from month to month.
Neighboring towns show the same effect. In September, Windham's median sale price was $999,999, up 15.6% from a year earlier. Its year-to-date median was $880,000, down 0.3%. In Pelham, days on market fell 68% to just 8 in September, the same month Salem's rose 80%. These towns border each other and share buyers. Swings that large in opposite directions say more about which houses happened to close than about the market underneath.
The Number That Kept Moving the Same Way
Salem's days on market rose year over year in each of the last three months.
- July 2026: 16 days, up from 14 a year earlier
- August 2026: 17 days, up from 13
- September 2026: 27 days, up from 15
- Year to date through September: 21 days, up from 16
A typical Salem listing in September spent nearly twice as long on the market as it did in September 2025.
Inventory followed the same pattern. In September, 27 single-family homes were for sale in Salem, compared with 19 a year earlier. Months of supply rose from 0.9 to 1.4. New listings actually fell 31.4% that month, so the extra inventory didn't come from more sellers listing. It came from homes sitting longer before going under contract. Pending sales fell to 21 from 27.
Sellers Stopped Getting More Than They Asked
Longer market times matter because they change how negotiations play out. The second steady signal shows this directly. NH REALTORS tracks the percent of original list price that sellers receive at closing. In Salem, that figure has stayed under 100% for three months running:
- July 2026: 99.3%, down from 100.8% a year earlier
- August 2026: 99.9%, down from 101.4%
- September 2026: 99.3%, roughly even with 99.4%
The year-to-date figure fell from 101.3% to 100.6%. Last summer, the typical Salem home sold above its original asking price. This summer, the typical home sold slightly below it. These gaps are small, often a point or so on a home in the $600,000 range. That point is where negotiation happens, though, and it now leans slightly toward the buyer.
One detail in the same report affects anyone making or receiving an offer. The sale price figures "do not account for sale concessions and/or downpayment assistance." If a seller agrees to the full price and then gives a credit at closing, the statistics still record a full-price sale. In a market where sellers are already getting a little under asking, the real net may be somewhat lower than the published ratio suggests. Buyers who see a home sitting past the three-week mark may find the room to negotiate shows up in the terms more than in the price.
Still Tighter Than Almost Anywhere Around It
None of this makes Salem easy for buyers. The shift is real but starts from a very tight market. Salem's 1.4 months of supply in September compares with 2.1 months for Rockingham County single-family homes and 2.9 months statewide. Salem's year-to-date days on market of 21 is still below the county's 25.
What has changed is Salem's lead. In September 2025, a Salem home went under contract in 15 days, compared with 24 across the county. In September 2026, the gap was 27 days against 31. The county also gained momentum Salem lacked that month: Rockingham County pending sales rose 13% while Salem's fell 22.2%. The county median sale price was $680,000, up 2.3%.
Windham, next door, saw a similar change in negotiations. Its September sellers received 97.4% of original list price, down from 102.3% a year earlier, and its days on market rose from 8 to 22. Pelham went the other way that month, with sellers receiving 101.3% of original list. With only 12 Pelham closings, one month doesn't settle that.
At the state level, the New Hampshire Bulletin reported in August that New Hampshire home prices had reached a record even as inventory grew. Statewide single-family inventory was 2,992 homes in July, compared with more than 10,000 available in summer 2015. The Bulletin also reported that mortgage rates averaged 6.66% in July, their highest level of the year. Those were July conditions, but they help explain how prices can stay firm while homes take longer to sell. There are still too few homes, and buyers facing higher monthly costs are taking more time to decide.
What This Means on Each Side of the Table
For a Salem seller this fall, the year-to-date numbers support confident pricing. The median is up, and supply is still about half the statewide level. The extra time is the thing to plan for. A home priced on the assumption that it will draw a quick, above-asking offer like it might have in 2025 may sit while buyers wait to see if the price comes down. September's 27-day average already shows that happening.
For a buyer comparing Salem with Windham, Pelham or the rest of Rockingham County, Salem is still the faster and tighter market of the group by supply. Price trends don't point to bargains. What has changed is time to inspect, to ask questions and to negotiate terms, which a 15-day market rarely gave buyers.
Quick Answers
Is Salem a buyer's market now? By the September 2026 numbers, no. Salem had 1.4 months of supply, compared with 2.1 for Rockingham County and 2.9 statewide. Buyers have more room to negotiate than they did a year ago, but supply is still short.
When do the October numbers come out? The Salem reports for July, August and September were each current as of the fifth of the following month, so October's figures will likely appear in early November. When they do, check days on market and percent of list received before the median.
Why did Salem's median drop while the county's rose? Rockingham County closed 277 single-family sales in September, compared with 26 in Salem. With ten times as many sales, the county median moves less from one month to the next. Salem's year-to-date median, which covers 175 sales, is up 1.3%.
If you're pricing a Salem home or getting ready to make an offer this fall, the monthly median won't tell you much about where you stand. Days on market and percent of list price will. Phil Harasek and the team can walk you through how recent Salem sales compare with the home you're selling or considering, and how much room there is to negotiate. Contact us when you're ready to talk it through.
