Single-family home sales continue slow slide, but prices rose 12%

File photo Higher interest rates and lack of inventory have slowed home sales.

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Statistics by Maine Listings for the month of December 2022 indicated sales declined 36.6% from December 2021.
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A year-long slide in single-family home sales that began in January 2021 persisted through 2022, resulting in a decline in sales of 17.49% over the past 12 months.

Home prices, however, continue to rise. The median sales price for 2022 reached $335,000 — up 12.04% over 2021. The MSP indicates that half of the homes were sold for more and half sold for less.

“The sales year ended with just over 16,800 homes sold and a median sales price of $335,000 — down 8.5% since its peak in June,” said Carmen McPhail, 2023 president of the Maine Association of Realtors and associate broker at United Country Lifestyle Properties of Maine in Lincoln, Bangor and Lubec.

Overall, she said, the numbers reflect the impact of higher interest rates, a typical fourth-quarter seasonal slowdown and a continued shortage of housing for sale.

Monthly comparison

Statistics by Maine Listings for the month of December 2022 indicated sales declined 36.6% compared to December 2021.

The sales decline reflects a slow slide for the year, starting with January 2022, when sales were down 7.2% compared to January 2021.

By May 2022, sales had eased 11.97% statewide, compared with May 2021. The comparative drop continued: June sales dropped 9.83%; July, 15.28%; August, 9.89%; September, 8.56%; October, 23.41% and November, 28.7%.

But the median sale price continued to rise, although it eventually began to see a decrease in its rate of escalation.

In January 2022, the price was up 14.47% to $292, 250 compared with January 2021.

By June, the statewide median sales price hit $360,825 in June — an increase of 16.4% compared to June 2021.

In July, the price was 12.38% above the same month in 2021.

In August, the price increased by 9.68%.

But in September, the price was up by only 3.13%, reaching a median sales price of $330,000 compared with the same month in 2021.

In November, the price reached a median of $325,000 — up 8.3% from November 2021.

And the latest statistics show that December 2022 was up 8.9%, reaching a median sale price of $330,000, compared to December 2021.

National

The national market is seeing similar trends.

According to the National Association of Realtors, single-family home sales across the county declined 33.5% from December 2022 to December 2021, and the median sale price rose 2% to $372,700.

Regionally, December 2022 sales in the Northeast were down 28.8% compared to December 2021 and the median sale price increased 1.6% to $391,400.

“We’re seeing a bit of a pause as buyers and sellers are adjusting their expectations due to today’s less-favorable financing terms compared to mid-2022,” said McPhail. “As we move through 2023, we expect would-be buyers to re-engage with the market and the demand for residential real estate to remain high. Conditions are favorable for a gradual balancing of the real estate market.”