August 23, 2018
Maine home prices and sales post strong July numbers
By Staff
Home prices in Maine rose 9.22% in July from a year ago to a median sales price of $225,000, according to figures released Wednesday by Maine Listings. Volume increased 9.65%, with 1,864 homes changing hands last month in the state compared to 1,700 in July 2017.
“For-sale inventory is coming onto the market, but we’re seeing 12% fewer homes for sale than a year ago,” Kim Gleason, 2018 president of the Maine Association of Realtors and broker/owner of McAllister Real Estate in Hallowell, said in a news release.
Gleason added that although home prices continue to rise, which is an advantage for current homeowners looking to build equity, rising prices can become an obstacle for first-time buyers.
“In some Maine markets,” she added, “price gains are outpacing income growth because of consistently low for-sale inventory levels.”
Lincoln County posts greatest percentage increase in prices
A breakdown by county shows that Lincoln County saw the greatest year-on-year increase in the home median sales price, which rose 19.5% to $239,000.
And in volume terms, Piscataquis County saw the biggest percentage jump in the number of units sold in July, 100 homes, which is a 31.58% increase above July 2017’s 76 homes sold.
Cumberland County posted the highest number of homes sold in July, with 1,259 sales recorded; York came in second with 935 homes sold.
Nationally, home sales dipped 1.2% in the past year, while the median home sales price increased 4.6% to $272,300 in July, according to the latest data from The National Association of Realtors also released on Wednesday.
The Northeast region experienced a 1.5% sales decrease in July, while the regional median sales price jumped 6.8% to $309,700.
Gleason note that there are still more than 10,000 active for-sale listings statewide in Maine.
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