January is a slow time for real estate sales, but things were really slow this year. Only 870 homes were sold in New Hampshire, a 15.5 percent drop from Jan. 2021, according to the latest data from the NH Realtors Association.

But prices rose 14.2 percent from a year ago, although the median price of a single-family home dipped to $399,700 from Dec. 2021, only the second time since last May that the median has dipped below $400,000.

Condos? Pretty much the same thing.

Sales went down 17.2 percent, but the median unit price rose 18.8 percent to $300,000.

As usual, the problem was not the lack of buyers but a lack of sellers. Those homes that do go on sale are on the market for an average of 33 days. There were only 931 homes for sale in January, a 35.4 percent decrease from the previous year, and there were 706 new listings, a 25.3 percent decrease.

Homes were selling for 1.4 percent more than the asking price, the Realtors said.

Homes in Carrol County appreciated the most, at a median price of $445,000, a 33.9 percent increase from a year ago. Rockingham County homes sold for a median $540,000, a 17.4 percent increase. The biggest slowdown in sales came in Sullivan County, where 28 homes were sold, a 47.2 percent decrease from 2021. — BOB SANDERS