MAINE
Home Sales Up, Average Price Up
Home sales are up 9.2% year-over-year, with July 2024 at 1,738 compared to 1,592 last July. Sales are up for single families and condos, but down for multi-families.
- Single families: 1,355 (2023) | 1,492 (2024)
- Condominiums: 157 (2023) | 173 (2024)
- Multi-families: 80 (2023) | 73 (2024)
Average sale price increased 9.8% year-over-year, now at $513,695 compared to $467,699 in July 2023. Prices increased across all categories.
- Single families: $468,783 (2023) | $502,545 (2024)
- Condominiums: $460,191 (2023) | $613,134 (2024)
- Multi-families: $464,062 (2023) | $505,937 (2024)
Homes Listed For Sale:
The number of homes listed is up by 11.3% when compared to July 2023.
- 2024: 2,527
- 2023: 2,271
- 2022: 2,678
Pending Home Sales:
The number of homes placed under contract is down by 8.4% when compared to July 2023.
- 2024: 1,590
- 2023: 1,735
- 2022: 2,028
Data provided by FlexMLS then compared to the prior year.
What’s Happening in the Market?
- Following along with national housing market trends for the month, Maine saw an increase in home sales when compared to this time last year.
- Despite the fact that more and more sellers are putting their homes on the market, inventory is still lagging behind the ever-persistent buyer demand in the market. The most prominent evidence of this is the increasing average sale price. However, price growth should slow as more inventory gets added to the market.
- Elevated mortgage rates and rising home prices continue to present a significant strain on buyer affordability. However, mortgage rates in July generally trended downward. Now, per Mortgage News Daily, mortgage rates have been holding steady around 6.5% which should help to improve affordability for active buyers.
- With more options available, less competition, and improvements to affordability, we will continue to see the market shift towards more of a balanced market in the coming months.
- Sellers, it is important to remember that homes will generally not sell for as much as they did earlier in the year. Inventory was even more strained than it is now and there were more buyers competing in the market. Now, pricing your home competitively based on recently sold properties, “comps,” will be the best tactic to generate the most demand for your home to get it sold quickly and for the most money.