Posted on June 12, 2008
Filed Under Portland Maine real estate, Maine real estate news, Southern Maine real estate, Coastal maine real estate | Leave a Comment
In May the average sold pricing for York, Cumberland, Sagadahoc and Lincoln county single family real estate markets was down on average 3% to 5% in contrast to the significant price drops Southern and Coastal Maine saw in April. Comparing May 2008 to May 2006 the current sold prices are 3% higher than 2 years prior whilst Cumberland is off 6%. Current transaction levels in the Southern coastal real estate markets remains significantly lower and continues to trend downward. Spring inventory levels are on the rise and current levels are almost identical to those seen in 2006 whilst about 3% less than those seen in 2007. Optimism as always is in the air within the greater Portland Maine real estate community though. With the significant energy crisis on hand be ready for for continued slumping of overall sales.
View all housing statistics for Maine May numbers here.
Posted on April 22, 2008
Filed Under Portland Maine real estate, Maine housing statistics, Coastal maine real estate | Leave a Comment
Taking the sold home statistics for the 4 counties followed, since the beginning of the year the average sold price level appears to have leveled out and appears to be statistically stagnant. Minor drops have occurred and will continue, but in Cumberland and York counties which includes the Portland real estate market the current pricing is similar to a year prior and a 6% increase over last years statistics in York county occurred this previous month. The pricing volatility and month to month fluctuations for coastal Maine properties will continue going forward due in large part to the lower transaction levels. Overall the pricing levels seem to have found an equilibrium.
View the complete housing statistic report here.
Posted on December 31, 2007
Filed Under Portland Maine real estate, Maine housing statistics, Bath Maine real estate, Coastal maine real estate | Leave a Comment
The Iron Works (Bath) vs the Naval Air Station (Brunswick). A comparison of pricing between the 2 mid-coastal Maine towns. With the housing markets sluggish, heading north from Portland about 30 minutes you arrive at Brunswick, home of Bowdoin college and hosting a variety of great restaurants and culture. Traveling another 10 minutes east you hit Bath, nestled on the Kennebec river.
Bath Brunswick
# Sold 2007 108 227
Avg Sold Price 190K 263K
Current Inventory 97 175
Avg. Asking Price 242K 289K
With twice the inventory and a 38% higher average sold price 3 primary factors for Brunswick’s higher pricing include:
1) Double the size of Bath. (20,000 vs.10,000 approximately)
2) 10 minutes closer to Portland
3) Home to Bowdoin College
Posted on October 24, 2007
Filed Under Portland Maine real estate, Maine housing statistics, Southern Maine real estate, Coastal maine real estate | Leave a Comment
Realizing it has been way to long since my last post and making the effort to post a bit more frequently, here is a direct comparison to the Portland Maine real estate condo posting in the previous entry to this one. Similar inventory levels are seen for both condos and SF homes, the appreciation to me is surprisingly a bit less for the homes vs. condos, but similar trend through the years are seen in both data set.
Currently in Portland there are 259 single family homes on the market with an average asking price of 378K.
The breakdown of price points is as follows:
Under 200K 200-300K 300-500K 500K +
40 114 71 36
Here is a look at the number of properties sold, the average price and year upon year appreciation for Portland homes. The total appreciation has been 81% for the entire time period.
Year # Sold Avg Price Yearly Appreciation
2007 404 246K 3%
2006 570 239K -4%
2005 519 252K 11%
2004 566 228K 15%
2003 498 192K 7%
2002 491 167K 21%
2001 473 151K 10%
2000 479 126K
Posted on October 11, 2007
Filed Under Portland Maine real estate, Southern Maine real estate | Leave a Comment
Is there a difference between condo pricing and single family home pricing in the Portland Maine real estate markets. Below is an analysis on the current condo market in Portland and to follow will be a single family home analysis for comparison.
Currently in Portland there are 243 condo properties on the market with an average asking price of 294K.
The breakdown of price points is as follows:
Under 200K 200-300K 300-500K 500K +
80 97 43 25
Here is a look at the number of properties sold, the average price and year upon year appreciation for Portland condos. The total appreciation has been 96% for the entire time period.
Year # Sold Avg Price Yearly Appreciation
2007 220 246K 3%
2006 312 239K -5%
2005 368 252K 11%
2004 296 228K 19%
2003 250 192K 15%
2002 220 167K 11%
2001 168 151K 20%
2000 165 126K
Posted on September 18, 2007
Filed Under Portland Maine real estate, Southern Maine real estate, Cape Elizabeth Real Estate | Leave a Comment
Doing some analysis for a client the other day on the available stock of property in the 500-700K range in the greater Portland Maine real estate markets, specifically Cape Elizabeth, South Portland, Falmouth and the West End, here is what the numbers reveal for average sq footage, cost/sq. footage, taxes and days on market for these high end Southern Maine communities.
Averages
Properties Sq Footage Cost/Sq. Foot Taxes Days on Market
South Portland 8 2991 $202 $5,362 107
West End 7 3035 $242 $7,024 85
Falmouth 49 3100 $212 $5,675 141
Cape Elizabeth 15 2674 $239 $6,315 61
Falmouth has a high number of new construction listings with 20 out of the 49 accounted for not having been built yet. The West End consists primarily of town homes in this price range whilst Cape Elizabeth and South Portland are a mix of older traditional homes coupled with newer contemporary construction.
Posted on August 8, 2007
Filed Under Portland Maine real estate, Maine housing statistics, Southern Maine real estate | Leave a Comment
As of August 8th, 2007 there is a total inventory of 490 residential properties that can be broken down into 259 single family homes with an average asking price of 380K and 231 condos with an average asking price of 318K, since my last analysis a few months ago, it seems inventory levels have risen by about 10%, not ideal but not extremely outrageous either. As I continue to read about new developments in the area moving forward, a new and exciting 24 unit condo complex on the corner of High and Danforth as well as a new proposed plan for the Jordan Meat facility, I am optimistic Portland real estate will continue to move forward and remain a good solid investment. Recently having hired an assistant to do market research for me, if you are looking for a great overview on all there is to do in Portland Maine from the Arts, to Restaurants, to Education, to the Old Port, I urge you to take a look at the Portland Maine overview.
Posted on July 11, 2007
Filed Under General Maine Real Estate, Portland Maine real estate, Maine housing statistics | Leave a Comment
As I sat around tonight wondering what I should research in the Southern Maine real estate world, acknowledging that I that I love numbers and that my niche seems to be in compiling housing statistics on I thought why not take some market snapshots for individual towns and then revisit a couple months later to get a great handle on the status of an individual market, so here we go with real estate in Portland Maine. As of today, 471 current residential properties are on the market in Portland, 253 SF and 218 Condos. The median ASKING price for a single family home clocks in at 387K vs 328K for a condominium. Despite the high average, the lions share of properties for both types fall between 200-300K, about 40% of the total inventory. As far as Days on Market, single family homes are moving much quicker, 85 days, versus 112 days for condos. Another interesting factoid I by accident stumbled across while messing up my average vs summation function in excel was the total dollar volume of asking prices. 98M and 71.5M respectively for SF and condos, thus with a couple hundred million, you could BUY Portland. View all the stats here
Posted on May 31, 2007
Filed Under General Maine Real Estate, Maine investment real estate, Portland Maine real estate, Maine real estate news | Leave a Comment
Inventory, Pricing, Demand
Statistics for April show the continued trends of rising inventories yet increasing prices, a quandary for traditional Supply/Demand economics. Prices were up in 3 out of the 4 counties followed with a 6.7% increase in Cumberland. The number of properties sold increased in Lincoln and York, remained flat in Sagadahoc but saw a strong decline in Cumberland partially attributed to the Portland younger buyer’s inability to secure loans due to increasingly stringent lending practices for higher risk financing. A general sense of “blah” seems to have clouded the markets in April, yet investor and consumer sentiment seem to point toward improving market conditions for late spring.
Read the entire Maine Newsletter here.
Posted on March 9, 2007
Filed Under General Maine Real Estate, Portland Maine real estate | Leave a Comment
There was great article brought to my attention the other day in the New York Times talking about this transitioning neighborhood, what has happened, what is happening, its history and what it all means. It can be read here..
Portland’s Bayside region is the back side of the East End that overlooks the Back Bay. A mixed use neighborhood with industrial warehouses alongside single family homes/a soup kitchen next to luxury condo’s. What used to be a hustling and bustling working class neighborhood with a population approaching 5000 that saw a decline to its current population fo 1200 due largely to urban renewal that traded housing for parking lots.
As of late and sparked by the City of Portland’s Bayside Redevlopment to make this area the ”Urban Gateway” launched in 1999, new investment is being infused into the area. Whole Foods opened last month, the 6 year old Unity Village aparment complex has largely been a success and construction continues to move forward on a new 60 unit apartment complex as well as a luxury condo development on Chestnut street. By no means complete, the gradual transition is infusing life and excitement into a community with great history and character.
