Maine Home Prices Increase In July

AUGUSTA (August 21, 2019)—Sales of single-family existing homes in
Maine remain stable and positive. Maine Listings today reported a 0.16
percent rise in sales comparing July 2019 to July 2018. The median sales
price for the 1,866 homes sold in July reached $230,000, an increase of
2.22 percent compared to July 2018. The MSP indicates that half of the
homes were sold for more and half sold for less.

“For-sale inventory has crept up slightly, though competition for entry level homes remains high,” says Peter Harrington, 2019 President of the
Maine Association of REALTORS and Broker/Partner with Malone
Commercial Brokers in Portland. “With increasing for-sale inventory
levels and very affordable mortgage interest rates, we expect markets to
remain steady.”

According to the National Association of Realtors, sales across the
country rose 1.0 percent in July. The national MSP increased 4.5 percent
to $284,000. Regionally, sales in the Northeast dipped 4.3 percent in the
past year, and the MSP reached $305,800—down one percent.

“Sales volume has been up-and-down over the first seven months of 2019
and is running only 1.6 percent below the comparable time period for
2018, Maine’s record-breaking year. Real estate continues to be a great
long-term financial investment – and quality of life investment,” says
Harrington.

Below are two charts showing statistics for Maine and its 16 counties.
The first chart lists statistics for the month of July 2019 only, statewide.
The second chart compares the number of existing, single-family homes
sold (units) and volume (MSP) during the rolling quarter of May, June
and July of 2018 and 2019.