Maine home sales soar 27%, while prices jump nearly as high
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When it comes to home deals, cash is king 31% of the time.
Maine’s residential real estate market is heating to a boil, with sales and prices both increasing last month by double digits.
According to statistics released Thursday by the Maine Association of Realtors, Realtors across the state sold 2,341 single-family existing homes in October, a jump of 26.88% over October 2019.
The median sales price for homes sold reached $280,000, a 24.5% increase over October 2019.
“The residential real estate recovery since the COVID-impacted second quarter has been robust,” Tom Cole, 2020 president of the Maine Association of Realtors and broker with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate The Masiello Group in Brunswick, said in a news release. “January through October 2020 sales are 5.6% ahead of the comparable time period for 2019.
“Buyers are plentiful across Maine and they are facing a sustained tight supply of for-sale inventory. This supply/demand imbalance, buoyed by historically low mortgage interest rates, is resulting in increased competition and price appreciation.”
The National Association of Realtors reported a national sales increase of 26.7% last month, while the national median sales price reached $317,700 — a rise of 16%.
Sales in the Northeast climbed 30.4% in October, and there was a 20.2% jump in the median sales prices to hit $356,500.
“Maine’s lower incidence of COVID compared to the rest of the country, plus the increase in tele-working, has resulted in out-of-state buyers adding to the demand for Maine homes,” said Cole. “Historically, about 25% of monthly home purchases in Maine are by out-of-state buyers; during October, that number was 36%.”
By county, the biggest increase in number of units sold in October, compared with October 2019, was in Hancock County, at 56.27%. That was followed by increases in Lincoln, Knox and Waldo counties, all climbing more than 40%.
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