Maine Real Estate News

As we approach the end of 2011 it always a time for reflection and well wishes.

We have recently published our December real estate newsletter and invite you to take a look.
Each month we try to provide insight into the local and national housing market as well as some other interesting “stuff” that you might find useful or informative. Some of the topics we featured are:

- It’s A Wonderful Life
- General Overview of Maine Real Estate Market
- NAR Revises Homes Sales Downward - From 2007
- Real Estate Video - Some New Trends
- Cool Tools for Web Browsing
- Great New Video of a Spectacular Oceanfront Home

You can view the most current copy at Inside the 2007 - Maine Real Estate News and Notes. If you find it interesting, please send it to a friend or visit our Facebook page and let us know what you think.

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Each month we attempt to collect the latest real estate news for the greater Portland area. Our most recent edition of Inside the 207 featured updated home sale results through the first 3 quarters of 2011 compared to 2010.

Of course each town and city is different, and Portland is by far the largest real estate market. Yet trends can be found.

Compared to 2010 unit volume is down in nearly every community, yet pricing has appeared to stabilize. For more details you can download a copy at Monthly Newsletter.

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The real estate market in southern Maine has been interesting and challenging during the first six months of 2011. On our website you can view home sales comparing 2011 to the same period of 2010.

We have focused on the Portland Maine real estate market primarily, but have also included statistics for all of Cumberland County and York County. Below is a brief summary. Additional details can be found online, at our website, at MaineHomeConnection.

Across the entire state of Maine there have been 4,218 single family home sales in 2011 compared to 5,171 during a similar period in 2010. This represents a decrease of 18%. This trend is the same when looking at southern Maine, where home sales in Cumberland County are down 16%. Sales in York County are similarly down 17%.

According to statistics provided by MRIES, inventory is also high at this time. There are a staggering 16,066 single family homes for sale in Maine. In Cumberland County there are 2,388 on the market and another 2,572 in York County.

Although this information might seem a bit grim, the percentage of property under contract has improved slightly. At the end of June 13% of all single family homes were “pending”. This ratio is even better for both York and Cumberland Counties at 15% and 19 % respectively.

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In Cumberland County through September 30th 2,014 homes were sold in 2010 compared to 1,872 in 2009, representing and increase of 7.4%. From a price perspective, results in 2010 were better than 2009. The median selling increased from $219,900 to $225,050 or 2.3%.

In most cases people find this surprising, especially given all the negative news out and about. But, it is important to keep in mind that 2009 was one of the worst years on record in Maine and that the inventory of homes on the market is still high. In fact, there are currently 11 months of inventory available, and this rate has remained unchanged for the last six months or so. Also of concern is the fact that the number of homes “pending” has dropped compared to 2009, which is indicative of a slower 4th quarter.

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Scarborough Downs, which recently announced intentions to relocate to Biddeford, is selling 400 acres of its Scarborough property for an asking price of $12.2 million. This parcel of land is consider prime commercial real estate and is the largest contiguous parcel of land in the town.

According to the listing from CBRE/The Boulos Company, the commercially zoned land abuts the racetrack and has frontage on Route 1, Haigis Parkway and Payne Road. In a statement from Andrew Ingalls, of CBRE, the sale is not related to the racetrack interest in operating a racino in Biddeford. That is separate and a proposal is schedule to go before voters in November of this year.

Scarborough Downs has pushed for slot machines at its facility, saying it needs other gambling revenue to support its overall financial situation. In 2008 in Scarborough defeated a referendum to allow the racino.

The property is currently zoned for most business use, but changes in zoning could be envisioned to conform to Scarborough’s comprehensive plan, which features a village environment.

The comprehensive plan envisions mixed-use development in the area, blending housing and “community-scale” retail and services, while specifically discouraging shopping centers and big-box retailers.

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There is some relief for homebuyers trying to close home purchase contracts by June 30th.

The Senate agreed today to extend the closing date for buyers who had put homes under contract by 4/30/2010. Initially the closing date needed to be 6/30/10. The primary reason for the extension is the large numbers of short sale transactions.

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We have been providing online real estate services in southern Maine since 2003 and our personal website, MaineHomeConnection, has been and continues to be one of the leading real estate sites in the area.
This blog dates back several years as well.
Recently we have introduced a new blog attached to our website. This new […]

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We have just published our May 2010 Newsletter.

In addition to several excellent properties we are featuring, you will find some interesting stories about how homebuilders across the nation are viewing today’s economy.

There is also some great news about Portland’s cruise ship schedule for this some and some suggestions regarding online privacy.

The Maine real estate market has shown signs of improvement during the first quarter of 2010, and the latest statistics are included as well. Home sales are up and pricing has shown some signs of improvement.

Our Newsletter is published each month and you can view a complete archive of past issues, along with other videos and articles, on our website.

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This Sunday, May 16th, is Maine Open House Day.

For one day only over 500 properties throughout the state of Maine will be open to the public. Details of what properties can be viewed are easily accessed online at Maine Open House.

During this all day event not only will you be able to visit many beautiful homes, visitors will be able to enter a drawing for roundtrip airfare and 2 night hotel accommodations for several great destinations.

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Oil tankers are a common site in Casco Bay, and for good reason. The Portland area is a major hub for oil shipments that can trace its history back to World War II. In 1941 a pipeline was built between Montreal and Portland that still is in service today. It begins with oil being delivered by tanker ships to marine terminals in South Portland.

The facility includes 23 oil tanks and a capacity of 3.5 million barrels of crude oil. The oil is then pumped through two separate pipelines which cross the mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont and eventually extend to Montreal.

Portland Harbor Oil Tankers Unloading

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