Home sales in Maine dipped 7.2% last month compared to the same time last year. But according to the Maine Association of Realtors, it was still the second busiest January on record.
The activity reflects a trend that has persisted during the pandemic, where the demand for homes in the state is high but housing inventory remains low, the Realtors association said.
The median sales price for a home in Maine was slightly more than $292,000 in January, up 14% over last year.
Home prices are up in nearly all of Maine's 16 counties, but especially so in rural regions. Median home prices in Piscataquis County are up nearly 39% in January compared to the same time last year. Prices rose by about 30% in Aroostook, Franklin and Knox counties.
“Over the past two years, the pandemic has altered the way that households live and work," Madeleine Hill, president of the Maine Association of Realtors, said in a statement. "Remote employment arrangements and increasing sales prices have expanded home search areas, and we’re seeing Maine’s more rural counties rejuvenated by this demand.”
