Maine Real Estate Information blog

Maine has a higher percentage of foreign-owned agricultural land than any other state in the country, as well as 16% of all foreign-held agricultural land in the country, according to new data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The majority of the foreign-held agricultural land in Maine consists of forest and timberland totaling 3,270,362 acres.

Here’s a list of the 10 states with the highest proportion of foreign-held agricultural land to privately-held agricultural land as of February 28, 2007.

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency

In a press release to the media today, MREIS reports sales of single-family existing homes in Maine slowed by 17.24% last month — 1,032 in July 2008, down from 1,247 homes sold in July of 2007. The statewide median sales price dipped 3.52% to $192,000 in July. The median sales price indicates that half of the homes were sold for more and half sold for less.  Real estate sales across the country were down 12.4%.  Statistics released by NAR indicate a national median sales price of $210,900 - a decrease of 7.7% over the past 12 months.  NAR reported a regional sales decrease of 11.8% for the Northeast.  The regional median sales price was down 4.9% to $278,700.  The complete press release is posted at mainerealtors.com

One in every 2,710 Maine single-family homes was in at least one stage of foreclosure in July, an almost two-fold increase from the same month last year.

During July, there were 255 foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — reported in Maine, a 104% increase from July 2007, according to RealtyTrac, a California company that tracks foreclosures. July’s foreclosure filings, however, represent a 7.6% decrease from June.

Nationally, there were foreclosure filings reported on 272,171 U.S. properties during July, an 8% increase from the previous month and a 55% increase from July 2007. The report also shows one in every 464 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing during the month.

Source - Mainebiz.biz

Search over 30,000 Maine properties for sale (as of today’s date) at www.meservier.com

www.MaineMLS.info

www.MaineRealEstateExperts.com.

We are your Maine real estate connection!

 Here’s a summary included in REALTOR Magazine Online (8/7/08) - “The housing-stimulus package that became law last week took a bite out of the home-sale exclusions for second-home owners.  Under both the previous and the current law, most homeowners can sell their primary residence and exclude as much as $250,000 of the gain if they’re single or $500,000 if they are married and file jointly.  To qualify for the full exclusion, owners typically must have owned the home and used it as their primary residence for at least two of the five years prior to the sale. In the new law, which takes effect Jan. 1 and affects property acquired after 2008, owners can’t exclude the gain from the sale of the home allocated to periods of  ‘nonqualified use.’ That refers to any period (after the end of 2008) when the property isn’t used by the owner, spouse or former spouse as a principal residence. For example, a married couple buys a home Jan. 1, 2009, for $600,000 to hold as an investment. On Jan. 1, 2012, three years later, they begin using it as their principal residence. They live there for two years and sell the property on Jan. 1, 2014, for $1.1 million for a profit of $500,000. Under the old law, they would have been able to exclude the entire $500,000 gain from their taxable income. But under the new law, they could exclude only two-fifths of the gain, or $200,000, since the other three-fifths would be considered attributable to the three years the home wasn’t their principal residence. Source: The Wall Street Journal, Tom Herman (08/06/2008)”

The National Association of Realtors chart summarizes the first-time homebuyer tax credit provisions of the recent economic stimulus bill - The chart covers areas of eligible property, amount of credit, income limit, refundable, effective date and termination date to name a few. Follow this link to see the chart.  http://www.realtor.org/GAPublic.nsf/files/chart_homebuyer_tax_credit_.pdf/$FILE/chart_homebuyer_tax_credit_.pdf 

This is for First Time Home Buyers Only.

Foreclosures in Maine are on the rise, but the trend does not threaten the state’s financial institutions, according to a study released last week by the Maine Bureau of Financial Institutions.

Maine’s 34 state-chartered banks and credit unions completed 67 foreclosures in 2007, a 29% increase from the 52 foreclosures completed in 2006, according to a press release from the bureau. During the first quarter of 2008, there were 28 completed foreclosures, up from 25 for the prior three months.

The state’s financial institutions held 88,000 mortgage loans between October 2006 and March 2008, according to the study. During that time one loan in 528 was in the process of foreclosure.

More information on the status of residential real estate lending by Maine’s financial institutions is available in the bureau’s 2008 Annual Report to the Legislature.