Pembroke NH Housing Market: Why New Housing Faces Delays

From January through September 2026, Pembroke recorded 50 single-family closings, according to the NH REALTORS Local Market Update for Pembroke. At that pace the town sells about 67 single-family homes a year. Against that backdrop, one developer has spent most of 2026 trying to win approval for 100 new homes on a single parcel. Under Pembroke's current zoning, that plan, with fewer homes and more open land, faces a steeper legal path than a denser version of the same project.

That gap between what the rules allow by right and what needs a variance explains a lot about what will be for sale in Pembroke over the next few years. It also explains why the town's new housing is turning up in old school buildings and former banks instead of new neighborhoods.

One Parcel, Three Attempts

The land sits at the intersection of Pembroke Road and Broadway Street, about 125 acres owned by Londonderry-based DHB Homes. The Concord Monitor reported that this is the third proposal for the site in roughly two and a half decades.

Look at the middle row. The 2016 plan had more homes than the current one and spread them across more of the property, and it cleared the Planning Board without any zoning changes. The 2026 plan has 15 fewer homes. The project team estimated that around 100 of the 125 acres would stay untouched under the clustered layout, and the developer's attorney told the Housing Appeals Board that more than 28 acres would go into a conservation easement.

Why the Smaller Plan Needs a Variance

Pembroke repealed its cluster ordinance in 2021, according to the town's attorney at the August hearing. Without that ordinance, any project that groups homes together on part of a parcel has to ask for a variance. As the Monitor reported, the repeal followed problems with earlier cluster developments, including confusion over how large the shared common area had to be and concerns about private roads and runoff.

Riverside asked for three variances. They would have allowed more than one principal structure on the property, reduced frontage, and smaller distances between homes. The Monitor reported that the Zoning Board denied the requests because members did not find proof of hardship, one of the five criteria New Hampshire requires for a variance. The board's draft minutes from April 27 give a more precise record. The board denied a rehearing on the core request to build 100 units on one lot. It said age-restricted homes could be built on individual lots, and that preferring a planned unit development, wetland benefits included, was not a special circumstance of the land. On the frontage and side-setback requests, the board voted 5–0 that those variances were not required, because a cluster plan on the existing lot creates no new lots and no side lot lines. The chairman said the development would not be reheard unless it came back as something different.

At the August 4 hearing, Laura Spector-Morgan of Mitchell Municipal Group, representing the town, put the legal point this way, as quoted by the Concord Monitor:

"We're also not comparing plans here. This proposed cluster subdivision may very well be a better plan. That doesn't mean there is unnecessary hardship to justify a variance."

The developer's attorney, Eli Leino of Bernstein Shur, argued that the parcel itself is unusual. It is a large undeveloped tract in a downtown corridor, with multiple frontages, wetlands, and an aquifer district. He said a conventional 115-home subdivision would mean more land disturbance, more wetland crossings, and more traffic. Both sides agree the clustered layout disturbs less land. The disagreement is about whether a variance is the right tool to permit it.

The Monitor also reported steady public engagement. Zoning Board meetings in March and April drew dozens of attendees who raised traffic, water capacity, yard views, and property values.

What 100 Homes Means in a 50-Sale Year

Scale is what turns this zoning case into a market story. Pembroke's 50 single-family closings through September 2026 were up from 42 over the same stretch of 2025. At this year's pace, a single 100-home project would equal roughly a year and a half of the town's entire single-family resale volume. In a market that size, one parcel's outcome can shift what buyers find for years.

Here is what the most recent NH REALTORS data shows for Pembroke single-family homes, current as of October 5, 2026:

The September 2026 snapshot looks dramatic: a $565,000 median sale price, 13 days on market, and inventory of 21 homes against 13 a year earlier, for 3.5 months of supply. But September had only 7 closings. The same report shows a September median list price of $435,000, well below the median sale price, which is the kind of swing small samples produce. NH REALTORS itself notes that small sample sizes can make percent changes look extreme.

The year-to-date figures are the steadier read. Through September 2026, Pembroke's median of $512,500 sat a little below the Merrimack County median of $521,675 for the same period, according to the NH REALTORS Merrimack County report. New listings rose 31.7% and pending sales rose 15.2% year to date. More sellers are listing in 2026, and buyers are absorbing most of them. Nearly all of that supply is existing homes, because large new subdivisions are not reaching the market.

Where Pembroke's New Housing Is Coming From Instead

With no cluster option and one large proposal on appeal, recent additions to Pembroke's housing stock have come in small, specific pieces:

1. 30 High Street, the former school. Cornerstone Realty Holdings converted the original 1907 building into 10 apartments and the 1957 addition into six accessible units. The Concord Monitor reported in November 2025 that 16 more units were planned for spring 2026, after demolition of the old gym and classrooms, for 32 in total. We have not found later confirmation that the second phase is finished.
2. 50 Glass Street, the former TD Bank. Libby Contracting planned 12 one- and two-bedroom apartments. As of that same November 2025 report, interior demolition had begun, and the contractor hoped to finish at some point in 2026.
3. 109 Wilkins Avenue. In October 2025 the Planning Board conditionally approved MJ Properties NH LLC's two-building, 12-unit multifamily plan on town water and sewer. Final approval depended on conditions that included town and state utility sign-offs.
4. Cross Country Road. A minor subdivision at 823–853 and 855 Cross Country Road was approved in January 2026 after the owner removed one of the two proposed new lots. That is the lot-by-lot scale of most single-family growth here.
5. Accessory dwelling units. Under the 2026 Zoning Ordinance, last amended March 10, 2026, one ADU is allowed by right in any zone that permits detached single-family homes. It can be attached or detached, up to 750 square feet. The owner must live in either the main home or the ADU, and the ordinance requires septic approval and one shared water and sewer service.

Add up the apartment projects and you get dozens of units, most of them rentals. For someone hoping to buy a single-family home, they ease pressure only indirectly. The by-right ADU rule does give buyers a practical angle, though. A home with a lot that can support a 750-square-foot second unit carries an option that few other housing types in town offer.

What to Watch Over the Next Year

The Housing Appeals Board docket lists the case as Pembroke Meadows LLC v. Town of Pembroke, No. 2026-004-ZBA, with the merits hearing held August 4, 2026. The Monitor reported that a decision was due within 60 days, which would have been early October. As of this writing we had not found a published order, so the outcome is unconfirmed.

The bigger variable may be the town's own rulebook. Open Space Development and Cluster Zoning appeared on the Planning Board's list of year-ahead projects in February 2026. At that meeting the chair said discussion should wait until a conceptual open-space proposal for the property across from the high school had been reviewed, and members agreed the wetlands ordinance came first. In March, the Range Roads Subcommittee recommended drafting an Open Space Development/Cluster Subdivision ordinance and said it was considering impact fees for development along range roads. No draft warrant article or adopted ordinance had surfaced in the records we reviewed through September.

If Pembroke restores a cluster option, larger parcels could be developed with more conserved land under clear rules. If it doesn't, growth will most likely keep coming through conversions, single lots, and ADUs, and resale homes will stay the main way to buy in town.

Quick Questions

Is the Riverside at Pembroke project approved? No. In spring 2026 the Zoning Board denied the variance the project needed to put 100 homes on one lot, and the developer appealed to the state Housing Appeals Board. We had not found a published decision as of October 12, 2026.

Can I add an apartment to a Pembroke home I buy? The 2026 ordinance allows one ADU by right in zones that permit detached single-family homes, up to 750 square feet, with owner occupancy and septic approval required. Whether a particular lot qualifies depends on its zone and site conditions, which the town's planning office can confirm.

Why does the September median look so high? Seven closings make a very small sample. The year-to-date median of $512,500 through September 2026 is the more stable figure.

If you're weighing Pembroke against Concord, Bow, or another nearby town and want to know which streets, lot sizes, and ADU-ready properties fit a market this small, Holistic Homes Group can walk you through it. Schedule your free 30-minute consultation, and we'll look at Pembroke's current listings with the zoning picture in mind.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.