The Maine Assoc. of Realtors recently released the numbers for March 2023 and with little surprise, the echochamber of “sales down, values up” continues across the state of Maine.  Statewide, the number of homes sold in Maine in March 2023 vs. March 2022 was down 16.8%, while the median statewide home value of $337,500 rose 3.9%.  Two elements are the primary contributor to the “sales down, values up” trend: higher interest and lower inventory.  Higher interest rates are taking some buyers out of the market with affordability shrinking, while fewer homes to buy are doing exactly that, leading to fewer home sales.  Right now may be the lowest level of inventory we have seen in our 19 years of brokerage in Hancock County.

Interestingly, The National Assoc. of Realtors reports that nationwide in March BOTH the number of homes sold AND values have declined.  Across the US, sales were down 21.1% and values shrank 1.4%.  I’ll note that the 3.9% value gain statewide in Maine is on the lower end of value gains that we’ve seen in awhile.  Both of these figures may point to a market leveling, both locally and more broadly.

Closer to home, Hancock County continues with the “sales down” trend, with the number of homes sold dipping 23.6% in the first quarter of 2023 vs. the first quarter of 2022.  However, Hancock County bucked both the state & national trends in values Q1 2023 vs. 2022, with a significant leap of 15.8% to a median countywide home value of $347,500.  In fact, Hancock County’s value gain was the 2nd highest in Q1 2023 of all 16 Maine counties.  While a longer range of time will more clearly define market trends, I’ll call the Q1 2023 numbers a sure sign of what we’ve believed for a long time…this sure is a nice place to call home.