2021 was another record-breaking year for Maine's real estate market. Home prices in Maine were up nearly 17% last year compared to the previous year.
The median home price in Maine reached $299,000 last year, but real estate sales across the state were up 2.4%, according to a recent analysis of Maine listings.
The housing inventory in the state is still low, a trend that the Maine Association of Realtors expects will continue into 2022. Madeleine Hill, the association’s president, said buyers are having a tough time finding a home, and sellers are struggling to find a place to go.
“The trends are continuing to be as unprecedented as the year prior, with sales and prices being continuously on the rise and inventory continuing to digress, it's sort of a gridlock situation,” Hill said.
Aroostook and Washington counties saw the biggest jump in home sales in 2021, a result of buyers getting creative as they're priced out of Maine's more expensive housing markets, Hill said.
“A lot of people are working from home. A lot of people are looking for privacy and an opportunity to recreate on their own land, and so it really doesn't surprise any of us that even the rural counties are getting a lot of attention for their beauty, peace and opportunity,” she said. “As long as someone has good connectivity from their home they can really be anywhere and be quite happy.”
According to Hill, non-Mainers made up 34.2% of home-buying activity in state in 2021, a 4.3% increase over the previous year.
