Sales of single-family existing homes in Maine continue to be affected by rising mortgage interest rates and a smaller number of available homes for sale. Maine Listings announced a 34.99 percent sales decrease in January 2023, compared to January 2022. The median sales price (MSP) for homes sold in January 2023 reached $325,000, an increase of 11.21 percent over January 2022. The MSP indicates that half of the homes were sold for more and half sold for less.
In most communities across Maine, buyers need more for-sale housing inventory. Compared to pre-pandemic January 2020, Maine has just over 2,100 homes for sale statewide—3,700 fewer homes for sale in January 2023.
According to the National Association of Realtors, sales nationwide declined 36.1 percent comparing January 2023 to January 2022. The MSP for those homes in January 2023 reached $363,100, up 0.7 percent from January 2022. Regionally, sales in the Northeast dipped 35.9 percent in January 2023, while the regional MSP increased 0.3 percent to $383,000. The sales numbers for January are impacted by the scarce for-sale inventory, recent upward adjustments to mortgage interest rates, and the end of year holiday season.
There’s no need to wait until spring to place your home, camp or land parcel on the market; qualified buyers are searching now. Reach out to our professional broker staff today by calling 207-563-1003. They can quickly tell you what your property is worth!
Our company continues to excel with a full staff of exceptional local agents. We are excited to remain a leading real estate firm in Lincoln County as we serve buyers and sellers. We finished 2022 with $75,831,614 in sales from 180 transactions—up 20% over our Y-T-D numbers in 2021—and we are pleased to report that approximately one-quarter of our sales volume has come through our new Boothbay Harbor branch office. In comparison, Drum and Drum Real Estate sold $11,993,525 with 32 sides last year, and the local Sotheby’s office sold $59,791,951 with 81 sides.
It is early yet, but most of the 2023 year-to-date property sales locally have occurred in Wiscasset (7), Bremen (7), Waldoboro (6), Jefferson (5), Boothbay Harbor (5), and Boothbay (4). Slightly fewer sales have happened so far in Newcastle (4), Dresden (3), Edgecomb (3), Alna (3), Damariscotta (3), and Nobleboro (2). Towns seeing just one or no sales include South Bristol (0), Southport (1), Westport Island (0), and Whitefield (0).
There are currently just 49 single-family homes for sale in Lincoln County (down from 85 in January), with 39 percent of those priced at or above $500,000. The 558 residential sales that have occurred in the last 365 days represent transactions in the range of under $100,000 (4%), $100,000-$249,999 (20%), $250,000-$499,999 (45%), $500,000-$999,999 (24%), and $1 million-plus (7%). Listing inventory remains low—it is a great time to sell and our brokers are ready to answer your questions about the process.
The current market absorption rates for Lincoln County homes are 0.5 months (under $100,000), 1.9 months ($100,000-$249,999), 2.1 months ($250,000-$499,999), 2.6 months ($500,000-$999,999), and 6.7 months ($1 million and up). This tells us how long it would take for existing inventories to be absorbed into the market at current rates of sales if no new listings were introduced.
Newcastle Realty tracks Lincoln County and statewide sales, along with other important metrics, which keeps our brokers fully informed of current market conditions and emerging trends as they serve client needs. Questions or comments may be directed to Dennis Hilton, President of Newcastle Realty at dennishilton@cheneycompanies.com or 207-380-3435.
- Statistics are from the Maine Real Estate Information System, Inc. (d/b/a Maine Listings) for the period 1/01/2023 through 02/23/2023.
