Maine Real Estate Info

Foreclosure filings in June were up 61% over the same month last year, according to a firm that tracks foreclosures.

Maine had 276 homes, or one in every 2,504, receive a foreclosure filing in June, according to California-based RealtyTrac’s most recent U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. The June numbers were a 14% increase from May 2008.

Nationally, 252,363 U.S. properties, or one in every 501 households, received a foreclosure filing during June, a 3% decrease from the previous month but a 53% increase from June 2007, according to the report.

Sales of single-family homes in Maine were down 12.39% comparing May 2008 to May 2007, according to a press release from the Maine Association of Realtors.

The decrease from May 2007’s sales was slightly less than the national slump of 14.5%. Regionally, home sales in the Northeast were down 15% in May.

Androscoggin County was down 27.59% in unit sales (an improvement over the 40% down range we’ve been experiencing) and sale prices were off 7.42% over the same period last year.

Median sales prices also declined across the board during the same period — by 5.7% to $182,000 in Maine, by 2.4% to $278,000 in the Northeast, and by 6.8% to $206,700 nationally. The median sales price indicates that half the homes were sold for more and half sold for less. However, during the rolling quarter sales period, which includes the months of March, April and May combined, 5 of Maine’s 16 counties experienced an increase in the median sales price.

The complete press release is posted at http://www.mainerealtors.com

In a press release to the Maine media today, MREIS reports that April home sales in

  A total of 708 homes sold in April 2008 compared with 650 in March 2008.  MREIS reports a 23.13% drop in sales of single-family existing homes comparing April 2008 to April 2007.  According to MREIS, 708 homes were sold during the month of April 2008, down from 921 homes in April of last year. The median sales price (MSP) decreased 11.34% to $178,200, down from April 2007’s MSP of $201,000. The median sales price indicates that half of the homes were sold for more and half sold for less.  The complete press release, including county level statistics for a rolling three month period, are posted at http://www.mainerealtors.com

In an article by MaineBiz.biz, Foreclosure filings in Maine increased 178% in April over the same month last year, according to data released today by RealtyTrac, a California-based firm that tracks the U.S. foreclosure market.

In April, there were 314 foreclosure filings in Maine, up 60% from March and 178% from April 2007, according to the press release.

Nationally, April saw a 4% increase from the previous month and a nearly 65% increase from April 2007. One in every 519 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing during the month.

SOUTH PORTLAND (April 23, 2008) - In a press release to the Maine media today, MREIS reports that Maine’s statewide median home price decreased 3.35% since last March, to $188,000.  Unit sales decreased 28.41% in that same time period.  Nationally, single-family home sales decreased 18.4% in March, and the national median sales price decreased 8.3%. 

Continued cold weather in Maine cooled many single-family real estate sales during the month of March 2008. Prices were down over three percent during the 12-month span and March sales decreased 28.41 percent, according to the Maine Real Estate Information System, Inc.

The complete press release, which includes first quarter sales by County is posted at http://www.mainerealtors.com.

The internet has changed how buyers and sellers find Maine homes for sale and Maine real estate agents.  With recent changes to the Maine MLS interface all agents now have the ability to offer buyers and sellers a pubic access point to all properties for sale in Maine.  Over 80 percent of today’s real estate buyers use the internet to start their search for a home.  What kind of information will today’s buyers and sellers be searching for next?  I feel, it will certainly be demand for a more sophisticated approach to understanding particular segments of the market.  The understanding that comes from how many homes are for sale in a certain communities, how many have sold in the last 6 months, for what percentage of the sale price did they sell, how long did each property take to sale is the next level of real estate information that today’s consumer is going to demand from the internet, their agent and the market.  It’s not longer just about access to the MLS and what’s for sale.  This type of information can vary greatly from area to area and in different price ranges.  A service providing this information is now available at www.mainemarketsnapshot.com  This service provides free reports to both buyers and sellers.  Subscribes can choose to receive the report via email either every month or every 2 weeks.  It also very important to be sure you have a high level agent to help you interpret the results of these snapshots.  There’s not substitute for the professional advice and counsel a skilled agent provides.

Unfortunately for sellers, the news isn’t great, and the numbers don’t lie. The good news is that the market is great for buyers! While inventory levels are very high, and interest rates remain low, with home prices having dipped slightly, more sellers are willing to make some concessions which make this the ideal time for buyers. It’s always a great market, it’s just a matter of who is benefiting the most, and today’s market is more beneficial to buyers than sellers typically. Read on…
Maine home sales fell 20% from February 2007 to February 2008, the Maine Association of Realtors said yesterday.

Realtors sold 555 existing, single-family homes last month, compared to 698 homes last February, according to a press release. The median sales price of Maine homes fell 2% during the same period, to $190,000.

Nationally, home sales fell 22.9% from February 2007 to February 2008, and the median sales price fell 8.7%, according to the trade group.

While the average median sales price (MSP) of a home in Maine has dipped only 2% since last year, residents of certain counties are experiencing much larger fluctuations in the value of their homes. Here’s a list of the three counties that have seen the greatest increase in home values and the three counties that have seen the greatest decrease in home values. All the data is available here.

County _MSP 06-07__ MSP 07-08_ % Change

Statewide $192,000 $188,000 -2.08%

Somerset $78,750 $96,500 22.54%

Oxford $146,000 $165,000 13.01%

Lincoln $212,625 $239,000 12.40%

Washington $120,000 $69,900 -41.75%

Sagadahoc $199,950 $167,500 -16.23%

Androscoggin $163,300 $155,000 -5.08%

Source: Maine Association of Realtors

To Search more than 24,000 Maine properties for sale, go to: Maine Real Estate Experts .com , Maine MLS .info or Meservier.com

Also…If you want to know what the real estate market is doing in your Maine neighborhood, visit: Maine Market Snapshot .com

PRESS RELEASE:  In a press release to the Maine media today, MREIS reports single-family real estate sales decreased over 28% during January 2008, compared with January 2007, with a total of 495 homes being sold. Statewide median sales prices for those homes dipped just over 2% to a median sales price of $185,000. The median sales price indicates that half of the homes were sold for more and half sold for less.  While prices decreased overall, several Maine Counties experienced double-digit price gains during the month of January. Nationwide, real estate sales were down 22.4% from January 2007.  According to NAR, the median existing single-family home price dipped 5.1% to $198,700. The Northeastern United States experienced a 25.7% regional decrease in sales.  However, NAR reported that prices rose 3.1% to $270,800 in the past year.

MSHA NEWS:  The Maine State Housing Authority (MSHA) provides these notable updates - a) for the month of February 2008 their First Home Rate remains 4.95% and Maine Assist at 5.25%; b) beginning March 3, MSHA will offer 0 point, 2 point and 40-year term options.  The current 3 seller point requirement will be discontinued.  Program guidelines, webinar training dates and marketing initiatives will be announced during February.  Will apply to first-time homebuyers, veterans and active duty military; c) MSHA borrowers who lose their jobs now have Maine HOPE (Home Ownership Protection for umEmployment).  Maine HOPE may be available to assist borrowers who become unemployed by making 4 of their MSHA mortgage payments, including taxes and homeownership insurance.  The Maine HOPE loan is interest free and repaid when the borrower pays off their MSHA mortgage or stops using the home as their primary residence.  For more info - (800) 452-4668 or http://www.mainehousing.org/HomeLoan/

New home construction in Maine will bottom out in 2008 and industrial lease rates will stabilize due to low demand, experts said yesterday at the Maine Real Estate & Development Association’s annual conference.Presenter Charles Colgan, a former state economist and professor at the University of Southern Maine’s Muskie School of Public Service, said new home construction in Maine will continue to fall in 2008, but not nearly as low as in other parts of the country. Meanwhile, lease rates for industrial sites in southern Maine will stay mostly the same, so landlords should try to keep existing tenants if possible, even if that means lowering rent, said Michael Miller of NAI The Dunham Group.

The MEREDA conference, held at Portland’s Holiday Inn by the Bay, included forecasts for the commercial and residential real estate markets in Portland, Lewiston-Auburn and Bangor.

This is the type of information we need to know and be able to communicate with our buyers and sellers, says Paul McKee, Team Leader of Keller Williams Realty Mid Maine. The Maine real estate market is holding steady regarding prices, slightly up in 07, but the number of transactions have decreased from the previous year.  Over all, Maine is fairing much better than what you here Nationally and that message needs to made clear to our clients.  Buyers need to know that prices are actually slightly higher, so “give aways” are not happening like they think, and sellers need to know that there are far less people out there making purchases and more properties for those fewer buyers to look at, so their price and the condition of the home needs to be “in the market” to even have a chance of selling now. Keller Williams Realty Mid Maine is located at 34 Center Street in Auburn Maine and they can be reached at 207-784-2525

Read the full press release here:

MEDIA REPORT:  In a press release to the media today, MREIS reports a 10.07% decrease in home sales comparing 2007 to 2006. Maine’s median sales price reached $194,000 in 2007, up 0.77% from 2006.  Median sales price indicates half of the homes were sold for more and half sold for less. During the month of December only, the statewide median sales price decreased 4.62% and sales were down 23.27 percent. Nationally, single-family home sales declined 21.6% and sales prices dipped 6.5% in the month of December.  NAR reported for all of 2007, home sales fell 13% and median sales price decreased 1.8% to $217,800. In the Northeastern United States, sales were 22.4% lower than last December.  The regional median sales price decreased 8.9% to $258,600.  Go to:  http://www.mainerealtors.com/MaineHousingReport-December2007.pdf

NOTABLE QUOTE:  This last sentence in a Kennebec Journal editorial on 1/19/08 - “But if you’re selling one house in Maine and then buying another, the issue is a little less urgent for you. What you might lose on one end, you can make up on the other.”  To read the entire editorial - http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/view/columns/4671783.html

A great article came out in our local newspaper regarding the housing market in Maine. Here things are a little bit different. Home prices in Maine have actually risen. The article talks about a trend tahat highlights a disconnect in Maine: Over the past year, the number of homes sold has declined by double digits nearly every month. Despite that, median prices continued to edge up, or remain flat.

In November, home sales statewide were off more than 10 percent compared with a year earlier, but the median price – the point at which half the homes sold for more and half for less – rose more than 1 percent, to $188,000.

You can read the whole story here at The Maine Today site: http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=163046&ac=PHnws&pg=1

MREIS PRESS RELEASE:  In a press release to the media today, MREIS reports that the number of homes sales in Maine in November dropped 10.63% comparing November 2007 to November 2006; and the median sales price increased 1.62%.   NAR reports nationwide single-family home sales decreased 19.9%; and national median existing sales price dipped 3.7% to $208,700.  Home sales in the Northeastern U.S. mirrored national statistics with a 19.4% drop in sales, with median sales decreasing 3.2% to $258,300.  The complete press release is posted at http://www.mainerealtors.com/MaineHousingReport-November2007.pdf

For buyers and sellers alike! This request form sents information to your email within 30 minutes and is customized to the criteria you select. You’ll continue to recieve these in roughly 30 day intervals and watch how the market conditions change. Feel free to call with any questions you may have with the market snapshot or if you’re looking for a more in depth interpretation of your results.