Tri-town News: Durham, Pownal & Freeport: Three Year Growth in Home Values Exceed Maine Average
3 YEAR MAINE HOUSING BOOM
Over the past three years, the U.S. has seen a boom in housing prices, caused by high demand, low interest rates, a lack of new homes built, high construction costs and a low inventory of existing homes for sale. While many people have seen a strong increase in the value of their homes, some have been more fortunate than others, depending on location. Maine has been a magnet for newly minted, work-from-home buyers from out of state - and they are bidding up prices in Maine, all the way to Canada. (1)
HOMES GOING ABOVE ASKING
Historically, when you priced a home for sale, the offers received were almost always below your asking price. During the pandemic however, we have seen a new trend: houses selling for 100% of asking price and in many cases, more than asking price. While the state average is currently 100% of asking price, people that sold a home in Durham, Freeport & Pownal topped the average at 104.1% of list price.
Although all boats have risen in the Tri-town during this rising tide, not all boats are sitting at the same height. So, in which of the three towns have housing values seen the biggest sales % over asking price? If you answered “Pownal,” get yourself a girl scout cookie: Durham 104.1%, Freeport 103% Pownal at an impressive 105.2%.
DURHAM, FREEPORT & POWNAL EQUITY GROWING FAST
Over the past three years, while houses sold in Maine saw an average increase of 21% in price per square foot, houses sold in Pownal saw a 26% increase in price per square foot, from $184 to $250, an all time high. Similarly valued properties in Durham saw a 32% increase to $196 per square foot and Freeport saw a 37% increase (the same as Yarmouth) to $269 per square foot. (See charts below for numbers) (2)
WHAT TO EXPECT FOR SPRING 2022
2022 has started out a good year for sellers, with inventories still low - and low but rising interest rates. Regardless of what you hear on the news about the nervous Federal Reserve Bank (aka “The Fed”) raising interest rates next month, mortgage rates lead the market, have been creeping up for months and will continue to rise sharply in 2022. While this can make buying your next home more expensive, how will this affect the value of your current home?
Most likely, until the pandemic is over and people feel safe and free again, inventory is likely to remain low and demand for property in Maine is likely to remain high. This should help buoy home prices and continue to push prices up, even in a rising interest rate environment but perhaps, not at the same record-breaking pace. Thus for Sellers in Maine, spring will open up the market to new, beautiful opportunities and make it a fantastic time to cash in equity.
Since interest rates have already started climbing at the banks - buyers should be ready to move quickly and consider locking in a rate, before that perfect house comes on the market.
RENTAL PRICES UP IN MAINE
Rents are also up in Maine due to a scarcity of available rental units, with overall rents in 2022 up 8.12% from pre-pandemic 2019, and Durham up a similar 9.18%. Pownal had the biggest rent increase during that time-19.83%. Freeport’s increase was 18.02%.
Current (2022) rates for a two-bedroom apartment in Durham is $999, with Pownal at $1281 and Freeport at $1637. Gone are the days of advertising rentals - now we are seeing tenants advertising themselves in the local paper or online. (3)
Every home is unique - contact us today to find out how much equity you have in your home.
1 https://www.mainebiz.biz/article/more-evidence-that-maine-has-become-a-move-in-destination
2 Showingtime Data, Maine MLS