If you are searching for housing off-campus you should begin immediately and continue to keep in contact with potential renters even when they say there's nothing available. If something comes up or changes, it's better for them to remember you than not to remember you. The hard part of the market is the reality of increased rent from what people are used to paying on-campus. There are fewer people able to buy property in the area, so their demand to rent has forced UNH to widen the scope of the potential rental areas. Landlords are able to choose their tenants due to the demand.
Students tend to be more of a risk for renters.
We recognize that transportation is an issue, and the university is looking at the possibility of providing services differently than the current stops. Perception makes it seem like there is no housing, reality is that there is housing. It may not be next door to your earliest class and it may not be what you had wanted originally, but it is a safe warm place that you can make your own space. The market is tight around the Durham area, agreeably. One option for someone who was in the lottery and has two other willing people is to build up a triple.