County home sales decline
By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
The number of homes sold in Aroostook County over the past three months dropped sharply, while the average price of those homes also declined compared to a year ago.
The Maine Real Estate Information System Inc. recently issued its report on the state’s housing market and the numbers revealed not only have home sales slowed in Aroostook County, but they have also declined statewide.
There were 87 homes sold in Aroostook from Aug. 1-Oct. 31, 2010. That number is down 27.5 percent from last year’s total of 120 homes during the same time period in 2009.
And while the median sales price for homes rose 2.14 percent statewide, in Aroostook County median home prices dropped 2.47 percent from $91,250 in 2009 to $88,999 in 2010.
“Current sales figures simply reinforce what we all know: the economy is in a slow down,” said Maine Association of Realtors President Marc Chadbourne of Century 21 in Winslow. “With unbelievably low interest rates, healthy inventories and stable prices, the real estate market is poised to make a big comeback.”
Statewide, the number of homes sold from Aug. 1-Oct. 31, 2010 was 2,734, down 20.43 percent from the total of 3,436 for the same time period in 2009. The median sales price for homes on the state level was $168,525.
Aroostook County was not the only area to experience a step backward in home sales, nor did it have the largest decline. Neighboring Washington County experienced the biggest decline in median sales prices going from $129,500 from Aug. 1-Oct. 31, 2009 to $87,500 for the same period this year. That drop figures to be a 32.43 percent decrease in home values for that area. However, the number of homes sold in Washington County for this time period was up from 20 in 2009 to 24 in 2010.
In Piscataquis County, the figures were on the positive side of the spectrum as the number of homes sold during this time period increased from 45 in 2009 to 50 in 2010. The median sales price of those homes was also up from $75,000 in 2009 to $82,000 in 2010.
The highest median price for homes was in Cumberland County at $225,000.
MREIS is a subsidiary of the Maine Association of Realtors.
