High demand drove sales of existing single-family homes in Maine to a 20-year high in January, up nearly 27% compared with January 2019, according to figures released Friday by Maine Listings.
That's almost three times the 10% rise nationally.
The median sales price in Maine rose almost 11% to $220,900. Nationally, that price rose almost 7% to $268,600. The median sales price indicates that half of the homes were sold for more and half sold for less.
"After a record-breaking 2019, the new year 2020 continued that strong momentum with the highest number of January sales [1,061] since we began keeping statistics 20 years ago," said Tom Cole, president of the Maine Association of Realtors. "We're continuing to experience low supply and high demand, with buyers ready to purchase — and waiting for homes to come onto the market."
The number of days that a home was for sale also was down dramatically by 32%, or an average of 43 days throughout the state.
Sales in the northeast were up more than 7%. The regional median sales price rose more than 11% to $312,100 comparing January 2020 with January 2019.
Cumberland and Penobscot counties saw strong sales increases in the quarter from Nov. 1 to Jan. 31 compared with that same time period the year before.
Home sales in Cumberland County were up more than 15% to 930 units, while those in Penobscot Country rose close to 16% to 387 units.
Median sales prices also were up more than 8% to $325,000 in Cumberland County and up more than 15% to 154,900 in Penobscot County.
