Financial Feasibility Analysis
PREVIOUS FINDINGS
KEY FINDINGS FROM THE DEMOGRAPHIC AND HOUSING MARKET CONDITIONS
Nashua is a growing city.
Nashua's population has risen rapidly since 1970, adding nearly
30,000 new residents. Growth is projected to continue through the
year 2030 with the city adding another 8,000 residents between
2018 and 2030. Nashua's fastest growing age cohort are those
residents 55 years and older, while middle-aged residents 35 to
54 are shrinking.
Nashua's population Is diversifying and with it |
comes income disparity.
The number of Black, Asian, and Hispanic/Latino residents
increased between 2013 and 2018 but White and Asian
households continue to earn 2.5+ times the income as Black and
Hispanic/latino households. This has impacts on affordability,
ability to pay for housing, and concentrations of lower income
households in certain parts of the city.
Nashua's residents are more educated and have
higher incomes than in decades past.
Nashua sow its number of households earning over $200,000 a
year increase by over 60% from 2013 to 2018. In fact, nearly
every income cohort grew except those earning less than $50,000
per year. This correlates with the rapid rise in educational
| attainment. Residents with Bachelor's degrees or higher increased
| 11%.
Household income for renters is growing at the
highest income levels.
The number of renter households earning $75,000 or more jumped |
significantly between 2013 and 2018. This is likely fueling
demand for newer, higher priced rental units across the city and
| pushing prices upward as these households can afford rents at the
\ top of Nashua's market.
ONE- and TWO-person housoholds are driving
growth.
Single-person and two-person households increased 12% and
22%, respectively hetween 2013 and 2018. These two categories
brought in nearly 1,500 new households to the city. Larger
households are not increasing of nearly the same rate. This is
translating into demond for smaller units, particularly smalter
|_rental units.
Nashua’s housing stock is predominately singlo-
family.
Single family housing comprises 86% of the residential land area
in Nashua. These units comprise 52% of all housing units in the
city. Buildings with less than 10 units account for 93% of
residential land area and 74% of all housing units.
Home values in Nashua are rising, rapidly.
The demand for owner-occupied housing units in Nashua has
driven prices up significantly over the last ten years. From 2010 to
2019, home values have appreciated 19%. The median sales price
for a newly constructed home in Nashua is $407,439 while the
median sales price of an existing home is $321,198.
Rents are also increasing in Nashua.
Over the last five years, median gross rent rose 19% to a high of
$1,287 per month. The number of rental units priced hetween
$1,500 - $1,999 range grew 24% in five years, the fastest of any
rent range. Rent growth has heen driven by demand for smaller
units, typically 1-bedroom units.
Downtown Nashua should be a housing focus area.
The combination of high rental percentages, lower incomes, racial
and ethnic diversity, lower assessed values, and older housing
stock creates challenges for stabilizing the housing in Downtown
and maintaining its general affordability. A batonced approach is
required to both introduce new market rate and affordable
housing, as well os strategic investments to improve the quality of
existing housing in the Dewntown area.
