Maine home sales dropped again last month, but prices rose
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Home sales in Maine dropped in October, but prices crept higher.
The number of home sales across Maine dropped 11% in October, the fourth consecutive month in which the volume of single-family existing home buys has been down.
But high demand and lower-than-normal inventory continued to push prices higher.
Prices jumped 10% in October, pushing the median sales price to $308,000, up from $280,000 a year ago, according to data released Monday afternoon by the Maine Association of Realtors. The median sales price means that half of the homes were sold for more and half were sold for less.
“Despite the lower sales volume numbers compared to 2020 for each month from July through October, demand remains extraordinary for Maine’s residential real estate,” said Aaron Bolster, the association's president and broker/owner of Allied Realty in Skowhegan.
“Availability for-sale inventory is significantly low — 56% below the pre-COVID levels of October 2019,” Bolster said. “In October 2019, the market had a 4.5-month supply of for-sale inventory. In October 2021, we experienced a 1.8-month supply. Buyers are quickly purchasing homes that are new to the market.”
Nationally, sales of single-family homes dropped 5.8% in October compared with the prior year. The national median sales price increased 13.5% to $360,800, according to the National Association of Realtors.
October sales in the Northeast declined 13.5% from a year ago, while the regional median sales price rose 6.4% to $379,100.
“Overall, 2021 continues to be strong for single-family existing homes,” Bolster said.
For January through October this year, the number of sales is 5.54% higher than the same period in 2020, and 11.4% higher than the same period in 2019, before the pandemic.
“The sales years of 2019 and 2020 were record-breakers for Maine. With a strong finish this year, 2021 will be another,” Bolster said.
For the three-month period from August through October, the number of homes sold fell 8.56% and the median sales price rose 13%. In that period, only Aroostook and Kennebec counties saw increases in the number of homes sold. All 16 Maine counties saw price increases in that time, with the biggest percentage gains in Piscataquis and Somerset counties.
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