PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The latest Maine real estate figures show sales and prices rising in Aroostook County, a positive sign amid concerns about the negative impacts of out migration and an aging population.
Between the first quarter of 2017 and first quarter of 2018, home sales increased by 3 percent statewide with the median sales price increasing 10 percent, according to the quarterly report of the Maine Association of Realtors.
In Aroostook County, the number of homes sold increased 26 percent, while the median sales price increased by 34 percent to $91,000. That’s the largest median sale price increase of any county in the state, although Aroostook is still the only county with a median sale price under $100,000.
Piscatiquis County also saw a notable real estate sales bump, with sales rising 35 percent and the median sales price rising 27 percent to $117,000, up from $92,500 in 2017.
“Our April statewide statistics show continued high volume and confidence in home ownership,” said Kim Gleason, 2018 president of the Maine Association of Realtors and the owner of McAllister Real Estate in Hallowell.
Jane Towle, the designated broker with RE/MAX in Presque Isle, said her real estate business is the busiest it’s been since before the Great Recession.
“This is some of the best increases we’ve seen in Aroostook County in eight years or more,” she said. “If the past month is any indicator, then this is full steam ahead.”
The home buyers Towle has worked with represent a “good variety” of demographics, she said.
“We see folks who are first time buyers, people moving up from a starter home. We’ve also seen people who are retiring moving into downsized homes. We see people moving from outside the area,” Towle said.
Among those coming from outside the region are people being recruited for jobs at larger firms, as well as those drawn to rural communities and the outdoors, she said.
“People from out of the area are recognizing that we have something unique to offer.”
The rise in home sales may or may not foreshadow good news on the demographic front in terms of retaining the region’s population and workforce. Definitive numbers on that will have to wait until the 2020 Census.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s current population estimates, Aroostook County’s population numbered roughly 67,600 as of July 2017, down from 71,000 in 2010.
Towle said it’s possible the worst of the Aroostook County’s outmigration is over.
“All indications are that we’re levelling out. You have to level out before you can build,” Towle said. “The 2020 Census may show that levelling off. After that it’s hopefully a period of building.”
With interest rates still below five percent and ample properties on the market, homebuyers are in a good positions, but it’s also “starting to be better for home sellers,” Towle said.
“Well priced homes will sell. There is pent up demand. Some are more aggressively priced than others, and those are the ones that are selling. We have fewer homes on the market now than ever.”
