Maine Real Estate Info

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

The California Association of REALTORS has compiled this data in 2007.

My questions to the current real estate buyer is this…
How does this data compare to your current online real estate experience?

Do you feel these numbers accuratley reflect buyers in all states or just CA?
According to CAR…

• 81% of Internet buyers stay with the first real estate agent they choose to contact, you need to be found first!
• An incredible 97% of Internet buyers said they would use the same agent again. Traditional buyers? 50%.
• Number of agents an Internet buyer interviewed, on the median: 1; Traditional buyers? 3
• Internet buyers are more educated about what they want and are less likely to waste your time.  Internet buyers spent an average of 4.8 weeks doing research before contacting an agent; traditional buyers only 1.7 weeks.  Internet buyers bought a home on average after spending 2.2 weeks looking for a home with an agent; traditional buyers spent an average of 7.1 weeks. 
• Internet buyers previewed an average of 6.7 homes with their agent (they had already eliminated ones they did not wish to see), traditional buyers previewed 15.4 homes; an average of just under nine fewer wasted showings per customer;
• The approximate distance between previous residence and new residence for traditional buyers was 25 miles; for Internet buyers, it was 242 miles (you can sell anywhere compared to traditional ways)
• 69% of Internet buyers said response time was extremely important.83% of those buyers chose email as their favored communication method with their agent. 0% chose “in person.” (The Internet is the new “office visit.”)
• Internet buyers were far more satisfied in every important researched category of satisfaction than traditional buyers were; when asked the number one reason for satisfaction with their agent, 91% of Internet buyers said that satisfaction was because their agent “was always quick to respond.” Traditional buyers? Their number one reason was “worked hard on my behalf,” chosen by 62% of them, leading us to conclude that traditional buyers did not find their agents “quick to respond.”

The 2007 Internet vs. Traditional Buyer ReportPublished by the California Association of Realtors

It’s been a few months since the data entry of ”Buyers Previous Zip Code” was added to the MREIS database for sold listings.  For all property types, statistics show that in that time period 74% of buyers are already in Maine, 25% are from out of state, and less than 1% are International.  Buyers from MA represented 7.5% of Maine sales, NH 3.4% is and CT 1.8%.  The were buyers from every state in the country, but WV had smallest representation with only 3 total sales.