Maine home sales, value increases holding steady for 4th month in a row

By Leela Stockley, Bangor Daily News Staff

Maine saw home sales increase in May, making it the fourth straight month of growth after more than two years of a steady decline in the state’s housing market.

Buyers closed deals on 1,180 homes in May, resulting in a 3.9 percent increase compared with the 1,135 sold in May 2023, according to the Maine Association of Realtors.

Meanwhile, the median sales price for a Maine home rose by 7.06 percent to $398,250, compared with $371,988 in May 2023.

Paul McKee, the president of the Maine Association of Realtors and a broker affiliated with Keller Williams Realty in Portland, said June 21 that sellers have become more active in 2024. 

“The 3,896 homes for sale in May were the highest number since August 2022 — 21 months ago — and the second-highest in 32-months, since September 2021,” McKee said.

Despite the increase in Maine, national sales dipped 2.1 percent in May 2024 compared with May 2023, while home prices across the country rose 5.7 percent to a median sales price of $424,500, according to the National Association of Realtors. 

Sales in the Northeast were down 4.0 percent while the regional MSP increased 9.2 percent to $479,200z

In the Northeast, home sales were down 4 percent in May, compared with May 2023. As state median prices rise, so does the Northeast region median prices, with a 9.2 percent jump to $479,200 during the comparison period. 

On the county level, the most significant increase in median home prices was in Piscataquis County, where the median price has risen 30.6 percent to $236,500for the three-month period ending May 30, compared with the same time last year. The highest median home price for the period was in Cumberland County, where it reached $570,000.

Only Washington County saw a fall in its median home price, with a 4 percent decline to $217,000 over that period compared with the same time last year. Aroostook had the lowest median home price overall ($158,300).

On the sales front, Knox County saw the largest sales bump over that three-month period, increasing 45.35 percent. It was followed by Waldo (34.4 percent), Androscoggin (29.8 percent) and Hancock (23.2 percent) counties. Sales fell most sharply in Aroostook County, where they are down more than 16 percent.