Courtesy / Maine Association of Realtors
Figures show sales of exsiting homes from July-September 2019 compared to the same period last year.
October 23, 2019
September home sales, values up from last year
Photo / Maureen Milliken
Washington County had the biggest increase in home sales in July through September over the same period last year. Pictured, a street in Lubec, in Washington County.
By Staff
For a chart showing county-by-county single family home sales and median prices for July through August, compared to the same period last year, see below.
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Single-family home sales in September were up 11% from this time last year, an all-time high, and values were up 6.4%, according to the Maine Assocation of Realtors. Nationally and regionally the numbers are up, too, but Maine exceeds those figures.
“September 2019 was a record-breaker, with 1,866 sales statewide," Peter Harrington, president of the Maine Association of Realtors, and broker/partner with Malone Commercial Brokers in Portland, said in a news release. "Buyers are in the market and are taking action. After a down-and-up year of real estate activity, a strong September has brought the total sales volume to 0.8% ahead of 2018 — Maine’s best year.”
Statewide in September, 1,866 existing (as opposed to new build) single-family homes were sold, compared to 1,682 in September 2018. The median price — meaning half of the houses sold were above that price and half below — was $288,750, compared to $215,000 last year.
Nationally, single-family existing home sales rose 3.9% in September 2019, compared to a year earlier. The median price increased 6.1%, to $275,100, according to the National Association of Realtors. Regional sales in the Northeast are up 1.5%, and the regional median sales price was up 5.2%, comparing September 2019 to September 2018.
Harrington said that fourth-quarter results will depend on availability of quality for-sale inventory, since other factors are positive, including the state's low unemployment rate, strong consumer confidence, job security and responsible lending practices.
Quarterly sales also up
Sales and price were also up for the rolling quarter of July to September, compared to the same time last year, only not at as steep an increase.
Sales statewide in the three-month period were 5,870, compared to 5,616 at the same time last year, a 4.52% increase. Median price was $230,000, compared to $220,000 in 2018, a 4.55% rise.
The rolling quarter statistics show that homebuyers are spreading out to some of Maine's more far-flung and rural counties.
Washington County, Downeast, had the biggest increase in sales in July through September, from 109 last year to 140 this year, a 28.44% increase. Median price rose 8.13%, from $120,000 to $129,750.
Other big increases were in Aroostook County, with a 21.91% increase in sales (217 in 2019; 178 in 208), and 17.65% in price ($100,000 vs. $85,000 a year ago) and more centrally located Kennebec County, 21.53% in sales (604; 497) and 6.82% in price ($179,450 vs. $168,000).
The biggest price increase was in Piscataquis County, at 35% ($135,00 vs. $100,000 a year ago). Number of sales in that county dropped 10.37% (121 in 2019; 135 in 2018).
Six of Maine's 16 counties had sales decreases, the largest in upper midcoast Waldo, where 146 single-family homes were sold this year as opposed to 166 last year, for a decrease of 12.05%. Median price was up 12.69%, to $202,850 from $185,000. Other counties with sales decreases were Franklin, Somerset, York and, as mentioned, Piscataquis.
Three counties had a decrease in median price, with Knox County, also in the upper Midcoast, having the biggest drop 10.35%, from $262,125 last year to $235,000 this year. Prices also dropped in Hancock and Oxford counties.
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