The fourth quarter started on a positive note for Maine’s housing market, with sales volume and median price increasing in October from a year earlier.

According to the Maine Association of Realtors, sales of existing, single-family homes in Maine increased by 3.4 percent in October, compared with a year earlier, and the median sale price reached $215,000, up 4.9 percent from October 2017. The median indicates that half of the homes sold for more money and half sold for less.

“The statewide sold statistics through October 2018 are 2.7 percent ahead of this same time period from 2017, the real estate industry’s strongest year ever,” said Kim Gleason, president of the Maine Association of Realtors and broker/owner of McAllister Real Estate in Hallowell.

“We expect a strong 2018 finish. Traditionally, the holiday season continues to be an active time to transact real estate because buyers and sellers are motivated for decision-making before year’s end.”

Statewide home sales for the three-month period ending Oct. 31 were up by 1.6 percent from the same period a year earlier, while the median sale price of $216,000 was up by 4.9 percent.

The biggest increase in sales volume for the three-month period was in Piscataquis County, where home sales increased by 30.5 percent from a year earlier. The biggest decrease was in Hancock County, where sales volume was down by 10 percent.

The biggest increase in median sale price for the three-month period was in Lincoln County, where the median of $249,500 was up by 19.2 percent from a year earlier. The only county in which the median sale price decreased was Hancock County, where it was down by 2.8 percent to $223,590 from the same three-month period of 2017.

Nationally, single-family home sales decreased by 5.3 percent in October compared with a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors. The national median sale price of $257,900 was up by 4.3 percent from October 2017. 

October home sales in the regional Northeast were down by 6.8 percent compared with a year earlier, while the regional median sale price of $280,900 represented a 3 percent increase from October 2017.

Home sales statewide through October are 2.7 percent ahead of the same period in 2017, the real estate industry’s best year ever. (Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald)

Copy the Story Link