Consumer confidence bolstered sales of single-family existing homes in Maine last month. The Maine Association of Realtors released statistics today showing an 11.01 percent jump in sales during September 2019 compared to September 2018. Statewide, the median sales price (MSP) in September increased 6.4 percent to $228,750 compared to September 2018. The MSP indicates that half of the homes were sold for more and half sold for less.
September 2019 was a record-breaker with 1,866 sales statewide. Buyers are in the market and taking action. After a down-and-up year of real estate activity, a strong September has brought the total sales volume to 0.8 percent ahead of 2018—Maine’s best year.
Nationally, sales of single-family existing homes rose 3.9 percent comparing September 2019 to September 2018. According to the National Association of Realtors, the MSP for those homes increased 6.1 percent to $257,100. Regional sales in the Northeast are up 1.5 percent, and the regional MSP jumped 5.2 percent to $301,100 comparing September 2019 to September 2018.
Newcastle Realty continues to enjoy a very good sales year. As of the date of this report, our brokers have closed 126 transaction sides with a total volume of $30,621,435—down slightly from our same Y-T-D numbers in 2018. In comparison, the local Sotheby’s office has booked $24,501,620 from 60 sides, and Drum and Drum Real Estate has sold $16,498,050 with 63 sides. We are pleased to remain among the leading real estate firms in our area.
Most of the year-to-date 2019 property sales locally have occurred in Waldoboro (89), Boothbay (63), Wiscasset (56), Jefferson (61), Bristol (68), Boothbay Harbor (54), and Damariscotta (41). Slightly fewer sales have happened so far this year in Westport Island (17), Bremen (18), South Bristol (23), Dresden (18), Nobleboro (22), Edgecomb (16), Whitefield (22), Southport (18) and Newcastle (27). Towns seeing about a dozen or fewer sales include Alna (13) and Somerville (7).
There are currently 403 single-family homes for sale in Lincoln County (down from 445 last month), with 31 percent of those priced at or above $500,000. The 638 residential sales that have occurred in the past 365 days represent transactions in the range of under $100,000 (8%), $100,000-$249,999 (49%), $250,000-$499,999 (32%), $500,000-$999,999 (9%), and $1 million-plus (2%).
The current market absorption rates for Lincoln County homes is 4.0 months (under $100,000), 5.0 months ($100,000-$249,999), 7.9 months ($250,000-$499,999), 18.3 months ($500,000-$999,999), and 35.6 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 buyer and seller client needs. Questions or comments may be directed to Dennis Hilton, President of Newcastle Realty at dennishilton@cheneycompanies.com or 207-380-3435.
- Sales statistics based on information from the Maine Real Estate Information System, Inc. (d/b/a Maine Listings) for the period 1/1/19 through 10/22/19.