As construction has slowed in Massachusetts and developers say it is too hard to build in the state, investors began to turn their attention to cities and towns just over the border of New Hampshire.
Middleton-based developer The Procopio Cos. is preparing to begin construction on a 310-unit build-to-rent project in Londonderry, New Hampshire — just 40 miles north of Boston on I-93. CEO Michael Procopio told Bisnow it has lined up a construction loan with Rockland Trust and a venture partnership with an institutional investor, California-based The Resmark Cos.
He said this type of partnership would not have been possible in Massachusetts, as institutional investors shying away from the state, and showed how investors flock to places where business costs are lower, like southern New Hampshire.
Wikimedia Commons/Haydn Blackey
“Developers and capital will move to places that are less resistant,” Procopio said. “They want to go where they can put the dollars that save money, get enough returns and meet the market. And that’s the thing: Massachusetts stands in the way we can meet the market with all the regulatory hurdles.”
The prospect of Massachusetts potentially adjusting rent controls — a ballot initiative struck down by the courts but could return in the coming years — has heightened concerns among investors who own buildings in the state.
Southern New Hampshire has benefited from its proximity to Greater Boston, creating demand for apartments and attracting institutional investors looking to deploy capital in the region, several industry executives said. Bisnow.
“In the last seven years, we have definitely seen interest in New Hampshire commercial real estate increase from investors outside the Greater New England area, and certainly come up from Boston,” said Colliers Managing Director Bob Rohrer, who oversees the New Hampshire brokerage office.
California investor Passco Cos., which is active in 18 states and has $4.6B in assets under management, entered the New Hampshire market in February 2025, acquiring 3 Lexington Court in Merrimack for $87M. In March 2026, the investment firm acquired Novella’s multifamily property at Tuscan Village in Salem for $125M.
The company does not own any properties in Massachusetts, with the first two New Hampshire deals in the Northeast.
Passco Head of Investments Colin Gillis told Bisnow Offers were attractive given the proximity of the Greater Boston area, without being tied to the same regulatory burden and underwriting uncertainty that comes with doing business in Massachusetts.
“This is an opportunity for us to buy in the Boston MSA in a state where there is no sales tax, no state income tax, and it’s in the Boston economic area and we don’t have to deal with the regulatory risks that exist in the state of Massachusetts,” Gillis said.
In June, Lawrence-based Arrowpoint Properties acquired an 85-unit building in Bedford, New Hampshire, for $25M. The deal is one of the company’s first purchases in the country, in addition to a short-lived multifamily deal more than a decade ago.
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A novella in the Tuscan Village of Salem, New Hampshire
“A lot of businesses are actually leaving Massachusetts and going to New Hampshire,” said Arrowpoint CEO David Lamattina. “That’s always a good sign, and you know, usually they tend to bring in employees, and that means more housing needs and things like that.”
Rohrer also said that he has had more conversations with outside business owners, including from Massachusetts, looking to move companies across state lines, citing a more favorable tax structure and business-friendly attitude at the local level.
“There is cooperation and the desire for business success in New Hampshire, and it is the kind of culture that I started in Concord with the governor and worked all the way through not only on the political side but also on the business side,” Rohrer said.
Companies moving to New Hampshire created more demand for housing, and the southern part of the state also saw demand from people working in Massachusetts. Some are choosing to commute from New Hampshire because of the lower cost of living, especially since post-pandemic workplace policies have reduced the number of days they have to be in the office.
This has led to an increase in new development activity in recent years, particularly along Interstate 93, which allows a direct connection to Boston. Developers have been drawn to cities like Salem, Manchester and Londonderry, as well as coastal cities such as Portsmouth.
New Hampshire cities and towns issued building permits for 5,822 housing units in 2024, the highest number since 2005.
More than 4,000 new multifamily units were delivered last year, Colliers said in its second-quarter report on New Hampshire’s multifamily market, calling it “the largest wave of new supply in years.”
This supply was largely absorbed, the report found, with New Hampshire apartment occupancy in Q2 sitting at 95.4%. And found that apartments asking for rent increased 1.1% annually to an average of $2,292 per month.
These strong fundamentals have attracted more investors to the country.
In October 2025, Virginia-based Harbor Group International acquired 1 Newcastle Drive in Nashua for $250M, and in January, Boston-based TA Realty acquired the Siena Tuscan Village property for $137M.
Procopio said developers and investors have been drawn to New Hampshire because its entitlement process is far shorter, without regulatory steps like Massachusetts’ environmental review process, and does not have the looming threat of rent control.
Rent control was scheduled to come up for a vote on the Massachusetts ballot in November, but the initiative was thrown out in June when a judge ruled it unconstitutional. Procopio said most outside investors stopped looking at the state when the rent control initiative was on the ballot, and most still haven’t returned since the decision.
“Now that rent control has, quote-unquote, been put to bed, at least for the time being, I think everybody’s coming back to the market,” Procopio said. “The reality is like 20% or 30% of them come back.”
In addition, the New Hampshire legislature has made it easier to develop housing across the state. House Bill 631, which took effect on July 1, allows multifamily developments to be built in properly zoned commercial areas. In 2025, several other housing laws were implemented, making the permit process for new homes faster and allowing accessory housing units to be properly installed.
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Jones Street Investment Partners ’75 Canal St in Manchester, New Hampshire
Boston-based Jones Street Investment Partners finished building 250 units at 75 Canal in Manchester in 2024. Jones Street Chief Investment Officer Matt Ranalli said the firm has been active in the market since 2014 and believes investor interest will only continue to grow.
“Our decision to develop Canal 75 was driven by strong market fundamentals and the opportunity to deliver a purpose-built multifamily community in a market historically dominated by converted factory buildings,” Ranalli said in a statement. “These properties have performed well and reinforce our view that demand for high-quality multifamily housing in Southern New Hampshire remains strong, and we expect investor interest in the area to continue to grow.”
On top of the Londonderry BTR Procopio deal, Rockland Trust this month closed on the region’s first low-income housing tax credit deal. The $9.4M deal is for the redevelopment of the 36-unit Hallsville School in Manchester.
Lenders say they need more housing at all income levels as the population grows.
“Across Southern New Hampshire, communities are facing an urgent need for affordable housing and workforce,” Rockland Trust Senior Vice President Kelly Nguyen said in a statement. “Rockland Trust is proud to support projects like this and remains committed to bringing more LIHTC financing opportunities to Southern New Hampshire to help create homes that strengthen communities and expand access for residents.”
Procopio said that although Massachusetts officials have tried to spur housing development through policies like the MBTA Community law and providing funding for new projects, the underlying problem will continue to dampen investment unless other policies change.
“Nobody wants to pull the lever, and what we’re seeing in states like Florida and Texas and North Carolina and New Hampshire, Maine, they’re willing to pull the lever to drive home production,” Procopio said. “And he’s going to eat Massachusetts lunch.”