Maine saw home sales continue to climb in November as the market shifts in buyers’ favor.
Buyers closed deals on 1,301 homes in November, a 6.8 percent increase compared with the 1,218 sold in November 2023, according to the Maine Association of Realtors.
Meanwhile, the median sales price for a Maine home rose by 8.5 percent to $385,000, compared with $355,000 in November 2023.
“Prospective buyers are in a better situation than they were a year ago across many markets in Maine. The number of homes for sale has increased, price appreciation is slowing, and the economic forecast is good, ”Paul McKee, the president of the Maine Association of Realtors and a broker affiliated with Keller Williams Realty in Portland, said Thursday.
That all adds up to a positive forecast for 2025, with buyer demand likely to remain strong, McKee said.
The growth in home sales lagged in the Pine Tree State behind the nation, with sales up 7.4 percent year over year, while the median sales price has risen nationally 4.8 percent to $410,900, according to the National Association of Realtors.
In the Northeast, sales rose 6.3 percent, compared with a year earlier, while the median sales price rose 9.9 percent to $475,500.
On the county level in Maine, the most significant increase in median home prices was in York County, where it has risen more than 14 percent to $535,000 for the three-month period ending Nov. 30, compared with the same time last year. The highest median home price for the period was in Cumberland County, where it reached $550,000.
Median home prices fell in Piscataquis (17.8 percent), Washington (4.3 percent) and Franklin (3.1 percent) counties over that three-month period, compared with the same time last year. Aroostook had the lowest median home price overall ($165,000), up 0.24 percent from the same period in 2023.
On the sales front, York County saw the largest sales bump over that three-month period, increasing 17.7 percent. It was followed by Franklin (16.8 percent) and Knox (13.9 percent) counties. Sales fell most sharply in Washington County, where they are down 20.9 percent, followed by Sagadahoc (18.5 percent), Piscataquis (7.8 percent) and Oxford (4.5 percent) counties.
