Buyer demand remains strong across Maine’s 16 counties. Data shared by Maine Listings shows home sales decreased 4.86 percent and prices rose 23.58 percent comparing July 2021 to July 2020. The median sales price (MSP) for the 1,996 homes sold hit $315,000 last month. The MSP indicates that half of the homes were sold for more and half sold for less.
Sales volume for the month of July continue to outpace pre-pandemic numbers from 2019. Though showing a slight decline of just under five percent from July 2020, sales volume for July 2021 is seven percent ahead of July 2019.
The National Association of Realtors reports show a nationwide sales dip of 0.8 percent for single-family existing homes in July 2021 compared to July of last year. Prices across the country increased 18.6 percent to a national MSP of $367,000. Regionally, sales in the Northeast rose 12.1 percent comparing July 2021 to July 2020, while the regional MSP increased 23.6 percent to $411,200 over that same time period.
Our company continues to excel and remains a leading real estate firm in the Damariscotta area. As of the date of this report, our brokers have closed 119 transaction sides with a total volume of $34,852,675 —up 31% over our Y-T-D numbers in 2020. In comparison, Drum and Drum Real Estate has sold $12,070,000 with 29 sides, and Sotheby’s has sold $31,847,100 with 50 sides.
Most of the year-to-date 2021 property sales locally have occurred in Waldoboro (75), Boothbay (80), Wiscasset (63), Bristol (70), and Jefferson (52). Slightly fewer sales have happened so far in Damariscotta (33), Dresden (29), Whitefield (25), Newcastle (34), and Boothbay Harbor (34). Towns seeing even fewer sales include Nobleboro (21), Edgecomb (24), Bremen (23), Westport Island (17), South Bristol (23), and Southport (20). Just a handful of 2021 sales have occurred in Alna (6), Somerville (5), and Monhegan Island (1).
There are currently 203 single-family homes for sale in Lincoln County (down from 217 in June), with 39 percent of those priced at or above $500,000. The 821 residential sales that have occurred in the last 365 days represent transactions in the range of under $100,000 (5%), $100,000-$249,999 (24%), $250,000-$499,999 (48%), $500,000-$999,999 (18%), and $1 million-plus (5%). Listing inventory remains super low—it is a great time to sell and our brokers are ready to answer your questions about the process.
The current market absorption rates for Lincoln County homes are 4.3 months (under $100,000), 2.5 months ($100,000-$249,999), 2.2 months ($250,000-$499,999), 4.5 months ($500,000-$999,999), and 6.9 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.
