Housing permits dropped off in Concord last year

New housing permits in Concord fell sharply in 2025, disrupting strong growth in each of the previous four years.

The decline, however, follows national trends as rising construction costs slowed the pandemic-induced uptick in new housing projects.

Just 44 new units in total were permitted in Concord last year, most of them single-family homes or apartments in buildings with five or more residences, according to data from the city and state. That’s down 74% from 2024, when 172 new units were built in the capital city, and it is the first time the total has dipped below 100 units since 2020.

Uncertainty in the economy, fluctuating tariffs and inflation drove a decline in permits nationwide last year, especially on multifamily housing, according to census data and analyses by real estate companies. At the same time, Concord has seen a handful of major projects slow or stall in the last year or two. While the decline in Concord is stark, single-year fluctuations are more likely in a city of its size and, and over the last several years, the city has seen middle-of-the-pack results in its permitting numbers.

“That number would not concern me,” said Ben Frost, a former deputy executive director at New Hampshire Housing, who now works at its Rhode Island counterpart and lives in Warner. “In 2025, and now moving into 2026, the economy is less certain. Given that building, construction and housing development is a risk-sensitive industry, you’re naturally going to have people backing off of it and waiting to see what happens.”

The state’s Department of Business and Economic Affairs recently released its housing supply report, showing the number of new residential permits issued in municipalities across the state through the end of 2024. By counting permits, the report measures the number of housing units that were approved for construction. It does not account for units that may not have been built. The Monitor also reached out to the City of Concord and was provided both an updated local figure for 2024 and the city permit totals for 2025.

State housing growth has been climbing slowly since its low in 2011, and rose to its highest level in years in 2024 after a dip in 2023, according to the report. Concord similarly hit a post-pandemic permitting high in 2024.

That, however, is starting to change.

“It wouldn’t surprise me to see lower numbers statewide for 2025,” Frost said.

Following the pandemic, developers proposed and permitted a higher volume of new projects to meet demand, especially larger apartment buildings. As those projects headed toward construction in a more shaky economy, Frost explained, developers began to back off new proposals, focusing on executing those already in the works and waiting out financial uncertainty.

Before last year, Concord was near-average for rates of housing growth among its peers – other cities statewide and other towns in Merrimack County, per the state report.

Adding 609 units between 2020 and 2024, Concord ranked in the middle of the state’s 13 cities. While its rate of growth was relatively on par with Manchester and Nashua at around 3%, it was outpaced by seacoast cities with similar or smaller populations, like Dover.

In Merrimack County, Concord remained dominant in the number of units added through 2024, overwhelmingly so when it comes to multi-family units, which are more difficult to build in rural communities with stricter zoning regulations. The city has argued that surrounding towns need to do more to add supply to the region, especially affordable housing.

Factoring in all types of housing, the rest of Merrimack County expanded supply by 3.7%, roughly the same rate as Concord over the five-year span.

While the city’s totals have been relatively consistent over the last few years, Concord’s totals are small enough to be easily skewed. That’s even more true for the surrounding towns individually. Salisbury’s 9% growth, for example, represented 52 new units over five years.

Many of the largest housing projects proposed in Concord over the last few years have either slowed progress, gone on the market or sputtered out, with 625 proposed units at the Steeplegate Mall being the most stark example.

While it is common for more ambitious proposals to hit roadblocks, the city’s factors them in to its housing projections. A majority of the thousands of units cited by the city as “in the pipeline” is made up of just a handful of large projects.

Housing growth is especially important in Concord on multiple fronts.

Like many of its New England peers, the city has been squeezed by rising housing costs since the pandemic. Growing the housing supply, across all types and price points, has been pegged by experts and city leaders alike as a way to help tame rent and home price increases and bring more people out of homelessness.

Concord is also a community in need of substantial tax base expansion. Adding new property value in the city, both commercial and residential, is the primary way to bring in new tax revenue, taking some of the burden off existing residents. The city’s tax base growth was nearly flat last year. At the same time, taxpayers are facing pressure from a citywide property revaluation and several expensive public capital projects in the works, including a new middle school, a new police station and a renovation of the city athletic complex at Memorial Field.

Frost described Concord as relatively well-positioned for growth, with pro-housing local leaders and efforts underway to improve its local regulations.

City leaders have taken steps to attract residential development in recent years, like applying for state and federal housing grants, offering tax incentives to retrofit projects, investing public dollars toward site cleanup, and upgrading water and sewer infrastructure on the Heights. Those investments helped carry both affordable housing projects like Penacook Landing and high-end ones, like the Isabella Apartments, and contributed to the city’s solid numbers prior to 2025.

Other target areas to bring in more development, most notably updates to local regulations, have seen less progress.

The city abandoned a previous effort to update its zoning ordinance to a form-based code. Interim zoning amendments targeted by the city council as quick teaks are still in the workshop stage. The city planner’s chair has seen high turnover and currently sits vacant. Concord also has a reputation among developers as a thorny place to see a project to fruition.

This year, the city is set to rewrite its master plan, shaping the vision for growth and change in the coming years. An update to the zoning rules would follow.

The post Housing permits dropped off in Concord last year appeared first on Concord Monitor.