The market for single-family homes in New Hampshire is finally slowing down.

For the first time in the last 12 months, homes lingered on the market longer than they did last year. But the sale of condos, perhaps the only affordable alternative for some, continues to be brisk, as monthly home payments climb out of reach of many.

It took an average of 23 days to sell a single-family home in September, 9.5 percent more days than last year, according to Multiple Listing Service statistics released last week by the NH Association of Realtors.

Condo sales picked up the pace a bit, however. They sold in 17 days on average, 22 percent faster than 2021.

Home prices are still going up compared to last year. The median price, $440,000, is 10 percent higher than in September 2021, but it fell $10,000 from the August and $20,000 off its peak in May and June.

Home prices went up the most in Belknap County, by 27 percent, to a median price of $445,000, and 26 percent in Carroll County to a median price of $465,000. Belknap County saw a 1 percent increase in closings, but they decreased in Carroll by nearly 23 percent, the sharpest decline followed by Hillsborough County, where closings fell 20.4 percent.

Rockingham County’s median home price climbed less than 7 percent, to $550,000. The price of a median Coos County homes jumped 17 percent, to $203,705. Homes sold most quickly in Merrimack County (19 days). — BOB SANDERS