"He said they are very difficult to finance." That is how the Salem Planning Board's draft minutes recorded Mark Gross of Tuscan Village Development on July 28, 2026. Board member Harvey had just asked him why apartments work better than condos in the next phase of the former Rockingham Park site. Gross told the board they had been through about half a dozen banks, and none of them wanted to finance a condo project.
That answer explains why buying into Tuscan Village works the way it does. Zoning doesn't set the number of homes you can own there, and neither does buyer interest. Construction lenders set it. As the plan stands, that number is about to shrink as a share of the whole.
A Condo Building Became an Apartment Complex
The West Village District sits at 14-24 Tuscan Blvd. It is one of the last large undeveloped pieces of Tuscan Village, and the 2023 master plan had set it aside for life science and research buildings. Gross told the board the existing life science space has a 28% vacancy rate. A 2025 update added 133 market-rate condominiums, 50 workforce units and a 150-room hotel. The revised plan now proposes 392 apartments, 72 workforce units and a 120-room hotel.
The financing problem also shaped the workforce housing. Board member Chuck Saba asked why the affordable units weren't mixed in with the market-rate apartments. According to the Derry News, Gross gave much the same explanation he had given for the condos.
Board members were open about losing the ownership units. Norcross said he had thanked the developer for condos a year earlier, called homeownership vital, and said he was disappointed to see owner-occupied units removed. Harvey pointed out that the median age of a first-time buyer had reached 40, up from 28 in 1994.
The town's own calculation, reported by the Derry News, shows the scale. With the West Village plan, Tuscan Village would hold 1,975 residential units, and only about 8% of them are being built for purchase. That works out to roughly 160 homes that can be bought, in a development of nearly 2,000.
The Homes You Can Actually Buy
When you list the buildings by name, the for-sale pool turns out to be a short list.
| Building or community | Units | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Building 2000, 18 Artisan Drive | 70 | Condominiums |
| Tuscan Village Townhomes | 36 across five phases | For sale, all phases sold out |
| Epicurean, Building 1300, 22 Via Toscana | About 300 | Apartments above Whole Foods |
| Hanover Tuscan Village | 281 | Apartments |
| Proposed West Village apartments, Building 5600 | 392 | Apartments, conceptual |
| Proposed West Village workforce building, Building 5700 | 72 | Workforce apartments, conceptual |
The town's 2024 filing for Building 2000 also describes a neighboring 230-unit residential project, Hanover 2.0 in Building 3000. An April 2022 article in the town's archive said Tuscan Village condominiums started at $649,000. That figure is now four years old and useful only as history.
All of the townhome phases have sold. The condos at Building 2000 have an as-built plan dated October 6, 2023. For a buyer today, an ownership address inside Tuscan Village almost always means a resale: an owner deciding to list one of a fairly small number of units, surrounded by a much larger and growing number of rentals.
Why a Lender Would Rather Fund 392 Renters Than 133 Owners
The Urban Institute gives the clearest account of why lenders behave this way. A condo developer has to be able to sell units quickly. Uncertain buyer financing and a limited supply of cash buyers make that sales plan harder for a lender to underwrite than a rental building the developer keeps and leases.
Much of that uncertainty sits with the buyers' own mortgages. Urban describes project-level tests that can limit a buyer's access to FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in a condo building:
- The share of units occupied by owners
- Delinquent association dues
- How concentrated investor ownership is
- Pending litigation
Urban also says construction-defect litigation can raise insurance costs, hold up sales or financing while a case is pending, and lead lenders to charge condo builders higher rates than rental developers. Its analysis concludes that these federal financing limits and local defect laws make rental development the less risky choice. Nationally, Urban found that units built for sale made up 5.4% of multifamily starts in the first three quarters of 2021.
The same rules that made banks wary of the West Village condos will also matter when you buy an existing condo. The questions a construction lender asks about a project, such as how many units are owner-occupied, whether the association's dues are being paid and whether there is litigation, are close to the questions your own lender may ask about the building before approving your loan. Gather the association documents early in your search and give them to your lender. Waiting until the appraisal is a riskier time to learn the answers.
The September 28 Vote Widens Where Apartments Can Go
The town also acted this fall. On September 28, 2026, the Salem Town Council voted 6-3 to adopt Resolution No. 2026-19. It amends the zoning ordinance to allow multifamily and mixed-use developments on commercially zoned land, in line with state law under HB 631, HB 1010 and HB 1588 and RSA 674:80. Councilors Pelletier, Hatch and Stramaglia voted no.
The council also tightened the version the Planning Board recommended. Lobbies and residential amenities no longer count toward the 33% commercial or retail requirement. Councilor Withrow argued that the space should be commercial or retail that anyone can walk into. Councilor Pelletier said most properties would not meet the multifamily requirements, and he did not expect much multifamily development along Route 28.
The ordinance controls where multifamily housing can be built. It does not decide whether those homes are rented or owned. Tuscan Village shows that the second question gets answered when a developer applies for a construction loan, so the new zoning gives the condo-financing problem more places to come up without solving it.
Salem's August Numbers, Read Against an 18-Sale Month
The New Hampshire Association of Realtors does not publish Salem condo figures in its town report. The town data below covers single-family homes, and the condo data is statewide.
Salem single-family homes, August 2026 versus August 2025, per NHAR's local market update:
- Closed sales: 18 in both years
- Median sale price: $620,000, down 6.4% from $662,500
- New listings: 36, up from 18
- Inventory: 27 homes, up from 17
- Months of supply: 1.3, up from 0.8
- Days on market: 17, up from 13
- Share of original list price received: 99.9%, down from 101.4%
With only 18 closings in the month, the 6.4% drop is mostly noise. The year-to-date median through August rose 2.9% to $630,000. The more telling numbers are new listings doubling and supply moving from under one month to 1.3. Salem single-family buyers had more choice this August than a year earlier, though at 1.3 months the market is still tight.
Statewide condo and townhouse figures for August 2026 show a market that is moving more slowly. The median was $434,900, up 4.3%. Closed sales fell 3.2% to 420, days on market rose 31% to 38, and supply held at 2.3 months. Those are New Hampshire-wide numbers, and they don't describe a fixed, small pool like Tuscan Village's. In a building with 70 units, how many owners decide to sell each year matters more for a buyer than any state average.
What Happens October 27
Nothing in the West Village has been approved. On September 22, the Planning Board voted 5-0 to continue the conceptual discussion to its October 27, 2026 meeting at the applicant's request. Town staff are still waiting on traffic, water, design, phasing and parking reviews. Board member Lewis asked for owned-versus-rented percentages at the next meeting, and Gross agreed to provide them. The town has its own reasons to like the change. According to the Derry News, impact fees would rise from $1.3 million to $3.7 million and net municipal revenue from about $80,000 to $800,000.
A Few Direct Questions
Could the West Village go back to condos? The plan is still conceptual, and the developer's reason for dropping condos was that lenders wouldn't finance them. Gross told the board that once interest rates come down, more people will move into ownership.
Does the new zoning mean more condos along Route 28? The ordinance allows multifamily housing in commercial districts that meet its conditions. It doesn't decide tenure, and Councilor Pelletier said he expects little multifamily development on Route 28.
What should a condo buyer here check first? Start with the association's records on owner occupancy, dues delinquency and any litigation. Those are the project-level factors Urban identifies as affecting buyers' access to agency-backed mortgages.
If one of the roughly 160 ownership homes in Tuscan Village is on your list, Phil Harasek and the team can help you watch for resales at Building 2000 and the townhomes, go through association documents before you make an offer, and set up your financing to fit the building. Contact Us and we'll plan it with you.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
