The homebuying craze in Maine doesn't seem to be losing steam anytime soon, with the state's real estate agent group reporting on Thursday that sales rose again year over year in August.
The number of homes sold grew 9.96% from 1,557 to 1,712, according to the latest market report from the Maine Association of Realtors, which gave a county-by-county breakdown of homebuying activity. August marks the sixth straight month where home sales have climbed, Jeff Harris, the group's president, said in a statement. The increase came as home prices also jumped 2.36% from $400,000 to $409,450.
Harris said inventory of single-family residences rose last month, which means "the market is showing signs of shifting more into balance."
"Potential home buyers in Maine have more options than they have had over the past five years," Harris, an agent with Harris Real Estate in Farmington, said in the statement. "The inventory level of homes for sale is building as more sellers enter the market — currently at the highest level since October of 2020."
Maine indeed has thousands of homes currently on the market. Some of them include a two-bedroom condominium unit in Old Orchard Beach for $925,000, a two-bedroom cottage in Raymond for $395,000, and a two-bedroom New England-style farmhouse in Island Falls for $189,000.
Maine is known for its vacation properties, including many high-end ones, but its lower-priced primary homes have become a big draw in recent months — effectively causing a flood of New Englanders to move to the Pine Tree State. Maine's population grew from 1.36 million in 2020 to 1.4 million in 2024, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, a pace five years faster than officials had predicted.
Like its New England counterparts of New Hampshire and Vermont, Maine is grappling with a housing shortage created by a population increase and stalled new home construction. One estimate found that Maine needs 84,000 new homes by 2030 to meet the demand. The state also has one of the nation's highest home vacancy rates because of the number of vacation properties.
At the county level, three areas led the state in the number of homes sold. Lincoln sales rose 28.8% from 118 during the June-July-August period of 2024 to 152 in the same summer months this year. Knox sales grew 21% from 125 to 151, while Aroostook jumped 20% from 191 to 230. Hancock, Penobscot, and Somerset counties saw a summer-over-summer drop in the number of homes sold, according to the market report.
Hancock County led the state in median price growth, logging a 9.8% increase from $405,000 to $445,000. In Androscoggin County, located south of the state capital, Augusta, prices rose 8.1% from $333,000 to $360,000, while in Aroostook, prices spiked 6.2% from $165,000 to $178,450. Median home prices fell in Knox, Sagadahoc, and Somerset counties.