For the month ending January 2010 the York County residential Maine real estate markets saw 119 transactions transpire at a median sales price of 209K which represents an increase of about 13% year over year  when the median sold price in January for 185K.  Volume was also higher by 30% year over year.  Inventories clocked in about 100 higher in February compared to January.
For more information on southern ME real estate please visit www.mymaineproperty.com or feel free to contact me directly at 207-650-5383 or via email at john@greentreemaine.com

The southern Maine real estate markets posted continued solid results in the month of January.  I think most Realtor’s including myself  are a bit relieved after seeing a VERY slow holiday season and early January.  Lately things have picked up significantly with many active first time home buyers in the market as well as parties looking to relocate to the region.

Year over year transaction volume in January was way up in all 4 counties of York, Cumberland, Lincoln and Sagadahoc.. a trend that has been underway for quite some time.   Pricing continues to stabilize and in the city of Portland median home prices were surprisingly up 6% month over month in January.

Please visit my Maine real estate site for the complete report as well as housing statistics for the various communities in the region.

Thanks for visiting and reading!

How did the largest city in Maine fare in 2009.  It seems on average most municipalities  lost about 10% of their market value in 2009 compared with 2008.  Overall prices in the southern and mid coastal real estate markets have retraced to 2003/2004 values.  Portland Maine real estate appears to have fared a bit better than the average.  Combined single family and condo values were down approximately 5% whilst broken out single family homes lost only 3% to4% of their value and condo’s were closer to 10%.

Transaction volume was down slightly relative to 2008, but most of this drop came from less condo’s selling as single family transactions were flat to slight up.

Going forward it seems the stage is set for a buying and selling frenzy in the real estate markets of southern Maine with prices having stabilized, the deadline of the tax credit looming and continued low interest rates.

For the 4 counties followed Cumberland and Sagadahoc posted the best results dropping only 6% and 8% respectively in median prices compared with 2008 figures.  The southernmost  real estate markets of York county lost 14% of their value whilst mid coastal Lincoln county dropped a whopping 17%.  Volume in all 4 counties held strong in 2009 posting similar transaction volumes to those seen in 2008 thanks  to a 2nd half surge resulting from the tax credit and low interest rates.

Despite these price drops home values did stabilize throughout the year. Inventories across the board are currently lower than where they were last year at this time and the median days on market average has dropped in all counties except for Sagadahoc.

Going forward I expect the first half of 2010 to be quite strong as rates remain low and buyers continue to take advantage of the housing tax credit that expires April 3oth.

The complete Maine real estate report can be viewed  at www.mymainepropety.com as well as individual reports on the greater Portland Maine residential markets and the Maine coastal  housing markets.

Today Bloomberg released a report that housing values were up on 20 cities throughout the nation for the 5th consecutive month.  For the last 5 months starting in July the median sold portland Maine home prices have been 207K, 198K. 204K, 200K, 212K repsectively.  Thus one could infer that our region market is fairly stable.  Volume on the other hand has been way up both in Portland and the surrounding neighborhoods. The first time tax credit coupled with historically low interest rates have helped keep a healthy supply of buyers in the marketplace.

Going forward anything could happen though and it seems volatility and media hype, both positive and negatively, will continue to dominate the industry.

For more detailed housing statistics on Portland or Southern ME real estate in general please feel free to contact me at 207-650-5383 or john@greentreemaine.com

The month of November marked another great month for the southern ME real estate housing markets, specifically Cumberland and York counties.  Transaction volume was up 44% and 55% respectively whilst median prices month over month continued lower, off 6% and 12%.

Pricing continues to stabilize month over month with little to no price depreciation seen for the past 6 months.   The month of December thus far has been pretty quiet however, but assuming interest rates remain low and that the harsh winter storms don’t hammer us too too badly I believe in the new year we will continue to see strong rebounding of volume and pricing in  all market segments including the single family, condo and multi unit markets.

Inventories for the southern Maine markets are lower than they were a year prior and many individual towns, including Portland Maine even saw  a bit of price appreciation month over month in November.

For more detailed Maine housing statistics and analysi please contact me directly at 207-650-5383 or via email john@greentremaine.com or sign up for a complemantary Maine real estate buyers packet.

As the Fall leaves begin to disappear and snow has begun to flutter, the real estate markets of Cape Elizabeth posted very strong results for the month ending October 2009. 13 transactions transpired at a median sales price of 426K. An increase of over 200% compared with October 2008 when only 4 properties traded hands. The median sales price was flat compared to a year, better than Portland Maine that saw a 9% decrease year over year, but month over month median pricing was up 42% as larger more expensive properties sold, a good sign of things to come.

For more information on Cape Elizabeth housing please visit www.mymaineproperty.com or feel free to contact me directly at 207-650-5383 or via email at john@greentreemaine.com

For the month ending August 2009, the southern maine real estate markets including York, Cumberland and the mid coastal real estate markets including Sagadahoc and Lincoln posted similar results to those seen in July. Median pricing continues to remain off about 10% from a year prior but month over month home prices have held strong, fluctuating up and down a bit but for the most part leveling off.  Transaction volume was once again up in 3 of the 4 counties followed.  Inventories remained flat.  Read the full August 09 real estate report here.

Thanks for reading,

John Herrigel

Maine Buyers Broker

For the month ending June 2009 the coastal and southern Maine real estate markets posted very solid gains, the best seen in well over a year.   Transaction volume was up a whopping 37% in York, whilst Cumberland county witnessed a 3% decrease compared to recent 10%-20%  over the past many months. In the ME coastal  real estate markets of Sagadahoc and Lincoln there were significant pricing gains, 10% and 26% respectively, I think largely attributed to the 2^nd home buyer reentering the market finally.  Inventories are on the rise in all 4 counties and as the summer progresses, it will be critical that they do not spiral too far upwards.    The many first time home buyer incentives,  the return of low interest rates and a strong 2^nd quarter earnings from the ec0nomy at large are all contributing factors to this successful season. For the complete Maine housing report please visit www.mymaineproperty.com

Thanks for reading,

John Herrigel
Maine Buyers Agent

For the month ending June 2009, the Portland ME real estate markets posted fairly solid numbers in my opinion.  A total of 65 transactions transpired at a median price of 205K.  This is a 5% drop in value from a median price of 215K a year prior, but volume has continued to tick upwards everymonth since February and now with the Maine State Housing “Gift of Green” adding an addition 5K bump to the 8K federal tax credit, the southern Maine Housing markets should continue to truck along just fine throughout the summer season.