AUGUSTA (November 21, 2019)— The $224,900 median sales price of a single-family existing home in Maine in October 2019 was 4.6 percent higher than October 2018, according to data released by the Maine Association of Realtors. The MSP indicates that half of the homes were sold for more and half sold for less. Realtors also reported a recordbreaking 1,845 sales for October—an increase of 0.71 percent compared to October 2018.

“REALTORS across Maine report motivated and focused buyers searching for homes. Through October, the number of home sales statewide in 2019 has exceeded our best-ever (2018) by 0.8 percent.” says Peter Harrington, 2019 President of the Maine Association of REALTORS and Broker/Partner with Malone Commercial Brokers in Portland.

The National Association of Realtors reported a 5.4 percent increase in single-family existing home sales on a national scale comparing October 2019 to October 2018. Prices jumped 6.2 percent to a national MSP of $273,600. Regionally, sales in the Northeast remained flat while prices rose 5.7 percent to $296,700, comparing October 2019 to October 2018.

“Sales volume remains steady,” says Harrington. “Median prices trending upward in some markets are indicative of tight for-sale inventory levels and the sustained historically low, and affordable, mortgage interest rates,” says Harrington.

Below are two charts showing statistics for Maine and its 16 counties. The first chart lists statistics for the month of October 2019 only, statewide. The second chart compares the number of existing, singlefamily homes sold (units) and volume (MSP) during the rolling quarter of August, September and October of 2018 and 2019.