Maine Real Estate News

In a statement prepared by MREIS March 24, 2008, Maine continues to be ahead of national sales figures in February 2008 - This despite a small decrease in the median sales price and number of units. A harsh winter season slowed sales of Maine real estate by 20% from a year ago during the month of February.

Prices, however, dipped a slight two percent. A total of 555 single-family, existing homes sold in Maine during the month of February 2008. One year ago, 698 homes sold during the same period. The median sales price (MSP) for February home sales was $190,000, a decrease of 2.04% from February 2007’s MSP of $193,950. The median sales price indicates that half of the homes were sold for more and half sold for less. According to NAR nationwide sales of existing single-family homes fell 22.9% in February. The median national sales price decreased 8.7% to $193,900. In the regional Northeast, home sales fell 26.4 percent. The regional median sales price rose 0.4% to $264,800.

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Laura Sosnowski, who along with her husband Michael, manage MaineHomeConnection.com, Maine’s leading online real estate resource for home buyers and sellers, earned the prestigious RE/MAX Platinum Club Award for outstanding sales in 2007. This selective recognition, presented annually by RE/MAX International, is achieved by less than 3% of all RE/MAX agents.

Laura and her team decided years ago to approach the real estate business as a consultant rather than a sales person. Understanding her client’s needs and acting accordingly help set her apart from the competition. He commitment to new technology helps provide clients with a proven point of differentiation, whether they are selling or buying in this competitive market.

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According to a February report issued by the National Association of Realtors, soft market conditions are forecast to continue for existing homes sales for the next several months, with improvement anticipated in the second half of the year, provided that loan limits are increased.

Existing-home sales are projected at an annual rate of approximately 4.9 million in the first half of this year, rising notably to 5.8 million in the second half. Projections for 2009 are a rate of 5.60 million unit sales. The aggregate existing-home price is expected to decline nationally 1.2 percent in 2008 to a median of $216,300, and then rise 3.2% to $223,200 in 2009.

As reported in previous Maine Real Estate News posts, home sales in Maine have not experienced the dramatic decline as other parts of the county. Comparing 2007 full-year sales statistics to 2006, Cumberland County sales declined 7.6% and York County declined 9.3%.

Most Maine realtors are confident in the market, especially since most current sellers have adjusted list prices to reflect market conditions and buyers have a better understanding of what to expect in the negotiating process. Although there is still considerable competition among homes on the market, as evidenced by nearly 29 weeks of inventory available in Cumberland County, good homes, well priced, are selling.

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Our redesigned site has finally gone live!

After nearly six months of planning, developing and writing, our newly designed site has finally gone live! MaineHomeConnection.com, long an online leader in the southern Maine real estate market, has a complete new look, more specialized content, and highly intuitive MLS Search tools.

When it comes to searching for properties in Maine, you have several options. First you can use our MLS Search page that allows you to select an area of the state, price range, home type and other special features such as waterfront, garages, fireplaces, etc. You are connected directly to the Maine MLS and can view all properties that match your search criteria. Alternatively, you can sign up for our Market Watch and receive automatic email alerts of all homes that match your requirements the moment that they come available.

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On a national basis there is little denying that home sales and market values declined in 2007. The national picture, however, is more of a mosaic of many neighborhoods and communities, each with its own unique characteristics. The adage that real estate is local has never been more true. Accross the United States there were considerable differences in real estate sales and median home prices.

Home sales in southern Maine did see a decline as dramatically in 2007 as many other areas of the country experienced. For example, unit sales (individual homes and condos) in Cumberland and York counties declined 7.6% and 9.3% respectively. Yet within that aggregate some cities and town remained stable or even recorded modest growth.

Maine real estate has defined national trends for several important reasons. First and foremost homes prices did not rise dramatically during the boom period of 2005 and as a result have less to drop. Secondly, Maine has experienced comparatively little overbuilding and speculative buying, thus the glut of unsold homes has been minimized. Thirdly, the area has not been as hard hit by foreclosures due to poor lending practices or dramatic unemployment rates.

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In an expected 5-3 vote, the newely elected Portland City Council on Monday named Olympia Companies to develop the Maine State Pier. The vote comes after repeated attempts to decide between Olympia and Ocean Properties of Portsmouth. A number of previous votes ended in ties.

According to councilors the decision for the $100 million project came down to Olympia’s design over Ocean Properties’ funding. The seven-acre development will include a mega-berth for cruise ships, a hotel and office and retail space.

Many are questioning the decision as Olympia has not presented a bona fide plan as to how the project will be financed and how state and federal permitting issues will be overcome. A strong benefit of working with Ocean Properties was that the company could internally finance the project, ensuring its completion.

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As with nearly every issue the media has a tendency to look at things from the most negative perspective – and the drop in the housing market is no different. Many home sellers in Maine and nationally are in a panic and without a doubt that desperation is working against them.

Recent stories in CNN Money, Bloomberg and The Financial Times have all decried the demise of the real estate market. As recently as last Friday Time Magazine prepared an expose on the falling housing market in Southern California.

I am not proposing that the market is not going through difficult times. Without question sales are down and properties are taking longer to sell. What is interesting, however, is how markets start to react. Initially there is denial that a problem is occurring. For example builders had their time and money invested in developments and even though the warning signs were there to slowdown, they continued to build. Now they are severely cutting back and simply trying to survive!

Wall Street is taking action and mortgage rates are beginning to show signs of retreating. The Federal Reserve will probably move to reinforce lower rates and keep the market from a complete meltdown, risking some mild inflation in the process.

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As has recently happened with several condo projects in the greater Portland area, developers in Belfast have decided to withdraw from a potential project. Westport Capital Partners had been planning to build 40 condominiums and a restaurant on the site of the former Stinson Seafood building in the harbor area.

According to company’s representatives, for a suitable return on investment the condos would need to be sold in the $600,00 to $800,000 range and in the current economic climate did not believe that could be realized. Westport Capital’s project manager George Pray made the announcement at a special city council meeting Friday afternoon.

The company held an option to purchase the former Stinson Seafood property, which it will not exercise. Westport Capital took over the project from developer Tom Roberts, who labored for several years to bring a similar redevelopment to fruition.

Westport Capital, like Roberts before, was seeking a contract rezoning arrangement with the city. Current zoning does not permit the sort of development both Roberts and Westport Capital planned. As a result the developers, with input from the city, had to create plans that ultimately required approval by the council.

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Medical care continues to excel in southern Maine. Recently Maine Medical Center, based in Portland, is the first Maine hospital to appear in the U.S. News and World Report “America’s Best Hospitals” rankings. The 2007 rankings rate hospitals by treatment type and include some of the country’s best, like the Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Maine Medial Center ranked 50 out of 50 in the “Heart and Heart Surgery” category and 45 out of 50 in the “Orthopedics” category, according to a press release. Only 173 hospitals of 5,462 considered made the paper’s lists.

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In a unanimous vote the Saco Planning Board on Tuesday approved Saco Island LLC’s $100 million redevelopment plan of a 15-acre complex of former manufacturing mills. The project, of comparable size and scope to Portland’s Maine State Pier, has been under consideration and review for more than three years. The current undeveloped land has been vacant for several decades.

Construction is expected to last four years and include a combination of retail space, condominiums, marina and offices.

Last fall, Saco Island LLC negotiated $35 million in tax increment financing from Saco, the largest such deal ever made between a Maine municipality and a real estate developer.

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