Courtesy / Maine Association of Realtors
A comparison of Maine existing single-family home sales and median sales price for the first quarter of 2020 and 2019.
April 22, 2020
Maine's March home sales, prices not yet showing ill effects of COVID-19
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Maine's December home sales saw high prices but lower volume amid a supply and demand imbalance.
By Maureen Milliken
The county-by-county comparison of the first quarter of 2020 to 2019
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Maine home sale prices during March were up from last year, and sales were steady, not yet showing the effects of COVID-19 restrictions imposed late in the month.
The median sales price for existing single-family homes for March was $227,950, an increase of 8.55% from March 2019, according to the Maine Association of Realtors. The median price means half sold for more and half sold for less.
A total of 1,124 houses in the state changed hands last month, a 0.36% increase in sales compared to March 2019.
First-quarter statistics show an increase of more than 9% over last year's first quarter for both sales price and transactions.
There were 3,050 sales statewide from Jan. 1 to March 31 this year, compared to 2,775 last year, for a 9.91% increase. The median sales price for the first quarter this year was $223,750, a 9.15% increase from last year's $205,000.
Cumberland County continued to have the state's highest median sales price, $330,000, a 13% gain from a year earlier.
Rural counties boom
The first quarter's biggest winners this year were rural counties, many of which showed big hikes in both transactions and median sales price over 2019 levels.
Three counties experienced whopping increases in transactions for the first quarter compared to last year — up 42.25% in Aroostook County, from 85 last year to 121 this year; up 36.84% in Knox County, from 76 to 104; 28.37% in Kennebec County, from 208 to 267; and in Sagadahoc County, 25%, from 64 to 80.
Franklin County had the biggest increase in median price for the first quarter, from $117,500 to $154,750, for a 31.70% rise; Kennebec County was next with a 17.79% rise, as the median price went from $146,450 to $172,500.
Somerset County showed a rise from a $103,125 median price to $121,000, for a 17.33% increase. Oxford County had a 16.62% increase, from $137,200 to $160,000; Piscataquis County a 13.21% rise, from $106,000 to $120,005.
The only decrease in transactions when comparing quarters was in Lincoln County, where they dropped 10.10%, from 99 to 89.
The only decrease in median sales price was in high-transaction Aroostook County, where the median price dropped from $93,000 to $84,500, for a 9.14% decrease.
Robust before pandemic
“The March 2020 and first quarter statistics show that Maine’s real estate industry has been robust prior to the coronavirus pandemic,” said Tom Cole, MAR president and a managing broker for Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate The Masiello Group in Brunswick.
The state on March 23 limited business to essential services to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, and real estate brokers made changes to how the do business in order to comply.
“We expect impacts to Maine’s real estate industry as a result of the public health emergency, depending on its intensity and duration,” he said. He said that brokers are adhering to all government orders and CDC safety precautions while helping with pending residential and commercial real estate transactions.
“Real estate is an essential business and essential transactions are happening,” Cole added. “We anticipate that the second quarter statistics will reflect this current pandemic pause; we also expect that due to the continual need for housing, the real estate industry will be positioned to help drive the economic recovery in Maine and nationally.”
Nationally, sales of single-family existing homes rose 1.3% compared to March 2019. According to the National Association of Realtors, home values increased 8% across the country, reaching a national median sales price of $282,500. Sales in the Northeast declined 3%, while the regional media price jumped 8.3%, to $300,400, compared to March 2019.
The information for this chart, provided by the Maine Association of Realtors, comes from Maine Real Estate Information System Inc., dba Maine Listings. Maine Listings, a subsidiary of the MAR, is a statewide multiple listing service, with more than 5,400 licensees inputting active and sold property listing data. Statistics reflect property reported as sold in the system within the time periods indicated.
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