Asked the question a lot, how is the Maine real estate market?
Is it hot, or not? To answer the question, it depends which type of property listing we are talking. What section of the real estate in Maine price range brackets we are wondering about specifically. 
Overall, the market in Maine for real estate sales is extended or shortened marketing time.
But not a nose bleed high price hike happening one way, or dive down to China the other direction.
In the rural areas which most of Maine is small towns, it is not just houses or homes being listed, marketed, sold either.
But raw land in Maine, owner financed woodlots, waterfront properties for sale, small business properties, rental income complexes. Or listings where no bank, but cash on the barrel head happens too.
The reason for cash sales is so low listing prices on the Maine real estate properties. Unlike urban areas where eight out of ten people have to hang their hat. Chase the dollar. Worry about all that crime, traffic. Other life shortening stuff.
The national news media talking heads, information portals try to have one size fits all in generalities of how is the real estate market question.
But last check the USA is a pretty big honking country.
With lots of time zones, thousands of miles from point A to point B through Z.
So in Maine, today, overall back to the how is the real estate market?
When we check in on the results from the multiple listing service that real estate professional post their properties in Maine?
The headline out of the Maine REALTORS Association in Augusta is “Maine home sales jump over 26% in October.”
Read the report on the Maine real estate market results.
The state of Maine has sixteen counties though so to really study the market, it helps to see the variation depending on where the house, home is.
And as stated before, just four walls, a roof and floor is not what the typical Maine real estate agent, broker that is a REALTOR or not lists, markets, sells.We see it all, are general real estate practioners which makes it 
interesting.
We gather for Maine REALTOR meetings, conventions and get to hear, share local area distinctions for all the state real estate markets.
Varied, not just Maine homes, houses and that’s it for real estate property flavors.
As you see from the above PDF real estate link, houses in Aroostook County, the Crown of Maine could average around $95,000 to $100,000. But in Knox, Hancock Counties that average sticker closed sale price is double this figure.
And even higher, moving the house sale price dial closer to $250,000 further south in Cumberland County, around Portland Maine.That is inching closer to the Boston market activity that warms up and cools off that market.
But back settling lower in Piscatquis, Washington Counties. That weigh in as lower welter weights size property prices than Aroostook 
County’s house sale count market results.
The appraisal process for mortgage home loan bank lending in Maine, and broker price opinion (BPO) is tougher in the smaller rural areas where prices are clumped closer together.
And the number of units for real estate sales happening in the last twelve months to use in the appraisal process are much lower. Or not apples to apples to compare.
Like the population numbers when you ask everyone in a small Maine town to raise their hands for a census head count. Only so many closed sales to use in the “what’s it worth today?”
Median sale prices for homes in Maine dropped in all but six of the sixteen counties during the last three months. In the northeast of the country, the median prices rose 1.2 percent to the $246,900 average figure.
And the national median house 
sale price rose 5.6 percent to $208, 700.
In the smaller areas of Maine, the real estate market could suddenly have three cash sales.
For $50,000 above the average at the time.
Usually on the waterfront where emotion runs high.
If supply is low or lacking. Or egos get involved, a bidding war shows up. To make it personal for the buyer who has waited long enough and this is the season to float the boat in the water outfront that lower supply, higher demand Maine waterfront property listing.
Above listed property price, multiple offers can occur.
And spike the number results because not a large pool to swim in for real estate sale total numbers in the small rural Maine markets.
So like anything, when the word of a jump up so many percent, it is wise to 
rewind to a year, the one before that announcement.
So that overall you see in Maine, the median sale prices for house sales end up changing very little in year over year comparisons.
We chug along, steady as she goes and don’t see the wild swings up and down, boom or bust that some areas of the country get.
That gets most of the real estate ink, press and broadcast coverage.
Which can confuse the local Maine real estate buyer or seller that takes the headline or sound bite as gospel. For what is shaking, baking in all real estate markets including Maine which is not the case.
Like people, every real estate market and the types of properties, the supply and demand at the time vary.
Are so so different.
Asking a real estate professional in Maine what the pulse of the market is for property listings, sales is vital to making sound business decisions on pricing, purchasing.
I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker
207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com |
MOOERS REALTY 69 North Street Houlton ME 04730
