Nationally, the news regarding home sales continues to be bad. Sales of existing homes across the country plunged to an annual rate of 4.49 million in November, down 8.6% from October and worse than the 4.9 million rate predicted by some economists.
In addition, the national median sales price fell last month by the largest amount on record, according to NAR. The median sales price of $181,300 dropped 13% from $208,000 a year ago. The price was the lowest since February 2004 and the largest decline since record keeping began 40 years ago.
Home sales in Maine continue to fare better than most parts of the country. The median sales price declined 8.3% in November to $172,415 - down from $188,000 in November 2007. Sales of existing single-family homes in Maine were down about 23 percent last month compared with a year earlier.
Although mortgage rates have recently dropped to less than 5 percent last week, providing an attractive opportunity for borrowers to refinance, it appears that it’s too early to predict what impact lower rates will have on sales. Additionally, there is some belief that rates may drop below 4% after the first of the year.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Commerce Department stated November sales of newly built homes fell 2.9% from October to 407,000 units, the slowest rate in nearly 18 years.
For more details on Maine Real Estate and Maine home sales and prices by town and community, please visit our website.
Posted by: Michael Sosnowski
Categories:
Random Musing
Maine Real Estate
Interest rates