Maine home sales continue downward trend in November as prices continue to rise
By Leela Stockley, Bangor Daily News Staff
Maine home sales decreased for the fifth consecutive month in November, following a downward trend that has been driven by a continued increase in costs throughout the state.
The 1,808 homes sold showed a decline of 7.99 percent last month compared with November 2020, while the median sales price for an existing single-family home reached $300,000 last month, an 11.11 percent increase compared with the same time last year, according to the Maine Association of Realtors.
Despite the dip in sales over the past month, real estate transactions from January 2021 to November 2021 were 4.1 percent higher, compared with the same time frame in 2020, according to Aaron Bolster, president of the Maine Association of Realtors. Sales were stymied by the fact that the number of houses available on the market did not match buyer demand.
“There were 33 percent fewer homes for sale in November 2021 than November 2020, and 59 percent fewer than November 2019,” Bolster said. “With a six-month supply of for-sale inventory as the benchmark for a balanced real estate market, our current numbers indicate a 1.7-month supply.”
Hancock County saw the largest drop in home sales, with the 300 houses sold comprising a 29.91 percent drop from September through November of 2021 compared with those same months in 2020.
Kennebec County saw the largest increase, with 568 houses sold, marking a 10.5 percent increase since the three-month period in 2020.
In terms of median sales price across the state, prices increased in all 16 of Maine’s counties.
The largest increase was in Piscataquis County, with median sales price jumping to $180,000, or a 42.97 percent increase during the three-month comparison period.
The county with the least amount of increase compared with the same period last year was Washington County, where the median price was $168,500, a slight 0.3 percent increase.
Nationally, existing single-family home sales edged down 2.2 percent compared with November 2020, but prices rose around 14.9 percent to a national median sales price of $362,600.