Maine home sales decreased for the second month in a row after reaching a high in January, while prices continued to climb among a sparse for-sale market.
The 1,031 homes sold showed a decline of 21.5 percent last month compared with March 2021, while the median sales price for an existing single-family home reached $325,000 last month, an 21.04 percent increase compared with the same time last year, according to the Maine Association of Realtors.
The time period that listed homes remained on the market decreased to an average of nine days in March 2022, compared with 11 days during the same month last year. The number of for-sale homes listed on the market also increased for the first time in seven months, with a 5.2 percent increase in for-sale homes since February 2022.
More houses are expected to come on the market between March and June, helping meet demand that has outpaced supply, according to the Maine Realtors Association.
Piscataquis County saw the largest drop in home sales during a three month period from January to March, with the 62 houses sold comprising a 36.08 percent drop from the 97 houses sold during those same months in 2021.
housing crisis
Androscoggin County saw the largest increase in home sales during a three month period from January to March, with the 237 houses sold comprising a 9.22 percent increase from the 217 houses sold during those same months in 2021.
In terms of median sales price across the state, prices continued to increase in all 16 of Maine’s counties.
The largest increase was in Washington County, with median sales price jumping to $239,000, or a 59.33 percent increase during the three-month comparison period.
The county with the least amount of increase compared with the same period last year was Hancock County, where the median price was $300,000, a 3.36 percent increase.
Nationally, existing single-family home sales edged down 3.8 percent compared with February 2021, but prices rose around 15.2 percent to a national median sales price of $382,600.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the comparison month in the second paragraph. Home sales decreased in March 2022 from the sales measured in March 2021.