|
Saturday, January 29, 2005
Trend won't end - Maine home prices rise
Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. | ||||||
 |
Also on this page: MEDIAN HOME PRICES | |||||
Home prices in Maine continued to rise in 2004 at a pace faster than the nation as a whole, climbing 12 percent over 2003, according to a year-end summary released Friday by the Maine Real Estate Information System. The number of sales was up, too, by 9 percent. The increases continue a trend under way since 2001. And real estate agents say that unless interest rates shoot up, they have similar expectations for this year. "I think people are looking at Maine as a good value," said Kevin Robert, a past president of the Realtor group. "Maine's quality of life - that appeal is still out there." Realtors across the state sold 14,445 homes in 2004, a unit-sales increase of 9.05 percent over last year. The median - or midpoint - sales price for those homes reached $175,000. Maine's price appreciation reflects national trends. Nationwide, the median sales price for 2004 increased 8.3 percent, to $184,100. The National Association of Realtors said that was the strongest annual increase since 1980. Not surprisingly, the highest median home prices in Maine are in Cumberland and York counties, at $229,900 and $225,500, respectively. The largest percentage of sales were there, too. More than 6,000 of the 14,445 homes sold in the state were in those two counties. Overall, housing prices are rising faster than incomes. Maine's income level last year was up less than 1 percent from a year earlier, to $37,592, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It was $52,718 in Connecticut, up 5 percent, and $51,196 in Massachusetts, up more than 9 percent. New residents helped push up home sales volume in Maine. Robert, who manages Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage offices in Saco and Kennebunkport, said the growth in southern Maine is being driven in part by migration from Massachusetts and Connecticut. People trying to escape expensive housing and increased congestion are drawn to Maine's lower prices and relative calm. Living within a short drive of beaches and mountains, as well as the amenities of Portland and Boston, is a major attraction, he said. The last slow year for home sales volume was in 2001, when Maine saw a half-percent drop in sales from the previous year, even though prices were up 8 percent. Since 2001, both sales and prices have seen a steady climb, according to statistics from the Realtor group. In 2003, for instance, sales volume increased nearly 20 percent and prices rose nearly 8 percent over the previous year. Low interest rates continue to be a major factor. After climbing to nearly 9 percent in 2000, 30-year-fixed mortgage rates started falling. They ticked up above 6 percent last spring, before turning down again. They currently average 5.5 percent, which is lower than any time in more than 15 years. But interest rates are only part of the story, said Tim Seekamp, president of Harborview Properties in Falmouth. Older, out-of-state buyers who have built up equity in their homes can sell them and buy seasonal homes, condominiums or single-level homes in Maine for cash. "Interest rates don't affect them as much as first-time home buyers," he said. Maine's overall hot home-selling market isn't shared by every corner of the state, however. The statistics show no price appreciation in Aroostook County, for instance, and a 10 percent price decline in Piscataquis County. But numbers in Maine's rural counties need to be carefully analyzed, Seekamp and Robert say. Expensive waterfront homes built recently on Moosehead Lake - in Piscataquis County - won't be reflected in sales figures, they say. And the 35 homes sold last year in Washington County represent too small a sample size to confirm trends. Looking ahead, both Realtors say 2005 will continue to be a busy year. Robert just returned from a Coldwell Banker meeting in Boston, where his company was projecting a stronger year this year than in 2004 for Maine and New Hampshire. "The indication is that interest rates may tick up a little, but remain favorable," he said. "The appeal of Maine and New Hampshire will remain strong." Staff Writer Tux Turkel can be contacted at 791-6336 or at:
|
||||||