Maine home sales down in April, prices up
Photo / Laurie Schreiber
Statewide, Realtors sold 194 fewer homes in April 2020 compared to April 2019, a decrease of 15.41%.
Despite a pandemic-fueled wane in the sales of single-family existing homes, values in Maine increased by double digits last month.
Realtors sold 194 fewer homes in April 2020 compared to April 2019, which is a decrease of 15.41%, according to a news release. A total of 1,065 homes were sold statewide during the month of April, compared with 1,259 a years ago. The decline mirrored the national dip of 15.5%, and Maine did better than the Northeast as a whole, which saw a decline of 18.2%.
However, the median sales price jumped 12.29%, from $210,000 to $235,800.
“The April 2020 statistics show the beginning impact of the pandemic pause on Maine’s real estate sales,” said Tom Cole, president of the Maine Association of Realtors and managing broker of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate The Masiello Group in Brunswick. “Because real estate transactions take 30 to 45 days to close, contracts written before the pandemic have likely now been completed.”
Recent statistics show that Maine’s for-sale inventory is down 19% compared to a year ago, he said.
Yet without a lot of inventory Realtors are still seeing multiple offers on certain houses and some buyers are taking advantage of historically low interest rates.
“Values remain strong," Cole said.
County numbers
Lincoln County saw the largest decrease in volume at 29.3%, from 116 to 82 units. That was followed by Waldo County at 13.6%, from 88 to 76 units, and Hancock County at 11.6%, from 146 to 129 units.
But increases were seen in Aroostook County, where sales rose 35.5%, from 90 to 122 units; Knox, 20.2%, from 89 to 107 units; and Piscataquis, 14.8%, from 54 to 62 units.
Cumberland County remained the top volume producer in the state, followed by York and Penobscot counties, although all saw declines. Cumberland dropped from 723 to 653 units, York from 591 to 537 units, and Penobscot from 338 to 309 units.
In terms of median sales price, Waldo County saw the biggest gain at 32.4%, from $152,500 to $202,000.
That was followed by Franklin County’s 31.6% increase, from $121,000 to $159,250.
Only two counties, Aroostook and Hancock, saw declines in prices.
In real numbers, Cumberland County had the top spot for prices, with the median at $334,900 for 2020, followed by York County at $304,000 and Lincoln County at $252,500.
National and regional
Nationally in April 2020, sales decreased 15.5% compared to April a year ago.
The National Association of Realtors also cited a rise in April’s home prices — 7.3% — to a national median sales price of $288,700.
In April 2020, the Northeast experienced a sales dip of 18.2%, while the regional median sales price increased 8.7% to $312,500 compared to April 2019.
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