“I was really surprised that it sold so quickly,” Peterson said on Thursday. “I had heard horror stories from friends about homes that were on the market for a year or more.”
The story did not surprise area real estate agents such as Rick Castonguay, designated broker at Big Bear Real Estate in Presque Isle. While housing sales continue to be on the rise one month and sluggish the next, the market in Aroostook County has “made progress in all fronts” over the past year, he said.
“It is a wonderful time to buy a home,” Castonguay said. “In my experience, I am seeing lots of young couples buying homes, perhaps because the economy is more secure than it was two or three years ago. I am also seeing more people interested in purchasing rental properties to earn extra income for themselves.”
According to the Maine Association of Realtors, the number of homes sold countywide went up from 132 during the three month period July 1 to Sept. 30 in 2015 to 172 in the same time frame this year. The median price of those homes sold in Aroostook, however, went down from $100,000 to $82,250 during the same time frames.
That compares to the statewide median home price which went up from $187,500 during the same three months in 2016 to $195,000 in 2016.
Danielle Forino, is a successful real estate agent who has worked in industry for the past eight years and has found continuing success after purchasing Aroostook Real Estate based in Fort Kent in 2015. The agency covers from Presque Isle to the St. John Valley.
Forino said that relative to what the housing market has been in the past, business for her has been “very good,” especially in the Fort Kent area. Home sales are a lot harder to make in the Madawaska area, she said, where a lot of personal income is tied to Twin Rivers Paper Company.
“Our office sold 100 homes for an average sales price of close to $100,000, this year,” she said. “That was great for us. The total sales volume in our office this year is $12 million, as opposed to $9 million last year.”
Forino said that more than ever this year, she is seeing people from other parts of the state who are buying second homes for themselves to use for retirement homes because homes are cheaper in Aroostook County.
“We were not as influenced up here by the foreclosures that devastated the housing market,” she said. “I think that many homeowners went through credit unions, and they really worked with people.”
“We were not as influenced up here by the foreclosures that devastated the housing market,” she said. “I think that many homeowners went through credit unions, and they really worked with people.”
In Presque Isle, Castonguay said he too is seeing a trend in people from southern Maine seeking out second homes, especially homes with land where they can have room for their animals.
“Just last month, two people bought ranches for their animals,” he said. “We also are seeing a trend in people who are looking to buy camps in the north Maine woods.”
Castonguay acknowledged that while it is harder to sell homes in some areas than in others, there are “lots of loans out there” for people seeking to buy.
“Home ownership really is possible now more than ever,” he said.
