Maine single-family home sales, prices rise again
Photo / Maureen Milliken
Home sales were up in May across Maine, as the market remained strong, the Maine Association of Realtors reported.
The single-family existing home market in Maine remains strong as the summer sales season gets underway, the Maine Association of Realtors reported Friday.
Brokers reported selling 6.32% more homes in May compared to May 2018, from 1,503 in 2018 to 1,598 this year, according to a the Maine Listing Service, the MAR said in a news release. The median sale price is up 4.59%, to $230,000. The median price last May for the state was $219,900.
The sales trend bucks the national one, in which prices were down 0.8%, according to the National Association of Realtors. National prices were similar to Maine, with a 4.6% increase. The national median price is $280,000, while the Northeast price is $304,100, up 6.6%. Sales were up 4.7%.
The biggest increase in the state for the rolling quarter, which includes March, April and May, was in Waldo County, where sales were up 50.72% — 104 single-family homes were sold for the quarter this year, as opposed to 69 last year.
Piscataquis County, which had strong sales throughout 2018, continued the trend with a 20.97% increase, with 75 homes sold as opposed to 62 for the quarter last year. Hancock County followed closely behind, with a 20.25% increase — 196 homes sold for the quarter this year, as opposed to 163 last year.
Six of Maine's 16 counties had decreases in home sales, with the biggest drop in Aroostook County, where 129 homes were sold during the quarter in contrast to 151 last year, for a 14.57% drop.
The biggest rise in median price in the state for the rolling quarter was in Hancock County, where the median price is $235,320, up 25.50% over last year's $187,500. Neighboring Washington County followed close behind, with a 21.46% increase, from $106,000 to $128,750.
The biggest decrease was in Piscataquis County, were the median price was $120,750 for the quarter last year, and $104,000 for the quarter this year.
The highest median price in the state is in Cumberland County, which includes the greater Portland metropolitan area. The median was $319,900, up 3.19% from last year's $310,000. York County, which, with Cumberland, accounts for more than a third of the state's population, had a median of $289,000, a 1.4% increase over last year's $285,000.
The lowest median was in Aroostook County, in northern Maine, at $99,900 a 8.59% increase over last year's $92,000.
“May was a strong month for residential real estate sales in Maine and, after a slow start to 2019, we’re pulling even to 2018 levels,” Peter Harrington, president of the Maine Association of Realtors, said in a news release. “Sustained job security and low unemployment rates, healthy consumer finances, and lower mortgage interest rates have fueled real estate markets across Maine," said Harrington, who is also a broker/partner with Malone Commercial Brokers in Portland.
“For-sale inventory continues to be at historically low levels with pent-up buyer demand in the marketplace," Harrington said. "Sellers are listing when they have their next move in place, and buyers are reacting quickly. Statewide, the ‘days on market’ for the first five months of 2019 is 47 days (down 8 percent) from the same time period during 2018. Activity has certainly bumped up over the past quarter.”
Rolling quarter county numbers
The single-family homes sold and volume during the rolling quarter of March, April and May of 2018 and 2019 for the state overall, and all 16 counties, were:
Statewide: 3860 sold in 2018, 3977 sold in 2019, a 3.03% increase; 2018 median sale price $210,000, $220,000 in 2019, a 4.76% increase.
Androscoggin County (population 107,679): 276 sold in 2018, 266 in 2019, -3.62% change; 2018 median sale price $166,875, $164,900 in 2019, a --1.18% change.
Aroostook County (population 67,111): 151 sold in 2018, 129 in 2019, a -14.57% change. 2018 median price $92,000, $99,900 in 2019, a 8.59% change.
Cumberland County (population 293,557): 888 sold in 2018, 891 in 2019, a 0.34% change; 2018 median price $310,000, $319,900 in 2019, a 3.19% change.
Franklin County (population 29,897): 101 sold in 2018, 103 in 2019, a 1.98% change; 2018 median price $133,000, $125,000 in 2019 a -6.02% change.
Hancock County (population 54,811): 163 sold in 2018, 196 in 2019, a 20.25% change; 2018 median price $187,500, $235,320 in 2019, a 25.50% change.
Kennebec County (population 122,083): 345 sold in 2018, 316 in 2019, a -8.41% change; 2018 median price $155,000, $162,750 in 2019, a 5% change.
Knox County (population 39,771): 129 sold in 2018, 113 in 2019, a -12.40% change; 2018 median price $236,000, $232,000 in 2019, a -1.69% change.
Lincoln County (population 34,342): 121 sold in 2018, 138 in 2019, a 14.05% change; 2018 median price $213,000, $224,500 in 2019, a 5.40% change.
Oxford County (population 57,618): 165 sold in 2018, 166 in 2019, a 0.61% change; 2018 median price $150,000, $175,000 in 2019, a 16.67% change.
Penobscot County (population 151,096): 377 sold in 2018, 422 in 2019, an 11.94% change; 2018 median price $139,900, $149,950 in 2019, a 7.18% change.
Piscataquis County (population 16,800): 62 sold in 2018, 75 in 2019, a 20.97% change; 2018 median price $120,750, $104,000 in 2019, a -13.87% change.
Sagadahoc County (population 35,634): 106 sold in 2018, 92 in 2019, a -13.21% change; 2018 median $230,750, $247,450 in 2019, a 7.24% change.
Somerset County (population 50,592): 145 sold in 2018, 134 in 2019, a -7.59% change; 2018 median $105,000, $117,250 in 2019, a 11.67% change.
Waldo County (population 39,694): 69 sold in 2018, 104 in 2019, a 50.72% change; 2018 median $180,000, $169,000 in 2019, a -6.11% change.
Washington County (population 31,490): 79 sold in 2018, 86 in 2019, a 8.86% change; 2018 median $106,000, $128,750 in 2019, a 21.46% change.
York County (population 206,229): 683 sold in 2018, 746 in 2019, a 9.22% change; 2018 median $285,000, $289,000 in 2019, a 1.40% change.
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