AUGUSTA (May 21, 2019)— Maine Realtors report strong sales and rising home prices for April 2019. Maine Listings released statistics today indicating a 4.8 percent increase in sales of single-family existing homes (compared to April 2018). The median sales price rose 5.0 percent to $210,000. The MSP indicates that half of the homes were sold for more and half sold for less.
“After a few months of decline, the April and rolling quarter data has tilted
back into positive territory with gains in units sold and median sold prices,”
says Peter Harrington, 2019 President of the Maine Association of REALTORS and Broker/Partner with Malone Commercial Brokers in Portland. “For sale inventory remains limited in most markets, which has kept values healthy, especially where job growth is occurring.”
Nationally, sales eased 4.0 percent comparing April 2019 to April 2018. According to the National Association of Realtors, the national MSP of $269,300 reflects an increase of 3.7 percent. Sales in the regional Northeastern states decreased 4.5 percent in April, while the regional MSP rose 0.9 percent from April 2019 to April 2018.
“We’re approaching the traditional peak season for activity with plenty of buyers searching. A strong 2019 will be dependent on the number of existing homeowners looking to sell. These existing owners are also impacted by the limited inventory and are hesitant to put their homes on the market because they’re not readily finding their next housing option.”
Below are two charts showing statistics for Maine and its 16 counties. The first chart lists statistics for the month of April 2019 only, statewide. The second chart compares the number of existing, single-family homes sold (units) and volume (MSP) during the rolling quarter of February, March and April of 2018 and 2019.
