The year 2016 was pretty good for home buyers in Aroostook County, with ample choices, affordable prices and low interest rates.
Home sales across the state increased more than 15 percent last year, and they increased by 45 percent in Aroostook County, said Jane Towle, a real estate agent with REMAX in Presque Isle. “It was a very good year.”
Towle, who sits on the regional board of the Maine Realtors Association and is privy to the group’s forthcoming data, said that 605 single-family homes were sold in The County last year, not including multi-family units, commercial real estate and land.
The median sale price of homes sold in Aroostook County did not increase last year, hovering around the same $99,000 price as in 2015 — unlike in southern Maine, where housing prices, sales and rents are all rising.
As someone in the business of selling homes, Towle said, “We like to see one or the other rise. When we see both price and sales rise, that means growth.”
Aroostook County’s numbers “means there’s not significant pressure” on prices, and that’s a benefit for homebuyers, Towle said. “Stability is good.”
“Caribou and Presque Isle are the two communities that drive a lot of the sales numbers, and there are a great variety of people buying homes in Aroostook County,” Towle said.
Among them are employees of large companies like The Aroostook Medical Center and Cary Medical Center, first-time home buyers who have spent years renting, people moving back to the region and some retirees.
“Some people really love four seasons,” Towle said.
Last year was also a fairly good year for some commercial real estate areas, such as around downtown Presque Isle, where a number of vacant storefronts and buildings have found tenants, including the new Allegro Coffee shop and used car dealer.
“Commercial real estate is having a bit of bounce back from the 2012 era,” Towle said. “Those were dismal years in commercial. I hope it continues.”
There are definitely challenges for home buyers, home sellers and real estate businesses in Aroostook County and rural Maine. Aroostook County has a 33 percent vacancy rate, compared to the statewide average of 29 percent. (The highest housing vacancy rate in the state is in Piscataquis County, with a 57 percent rate.)
And while there may be a lot of homes on the market, buyers have to navigate due diligence in assessing the condition of often older homes in northern Maine. Some may have problems from being unheated in winters, while others may have third-hand smoke damage from years of indoor cigarette smoking, which can be difficult to eradicate. Those who want to build a new home, even on affordable land, also face a host of obstacles in getting a bank loan.
“The housing stock is aging, there’s no question about that,” Towle said. At the same time, “the cost of construction over the past 10 years has become very expensive. People are far more likely to maybe buy a home that needs some repairs, and they can restore it, compared to starting from scratch.”
“Homes with good bones and good systems, a lot can be done,” Towle said. “There is a lot of creative financing out there. With good credit, know how and some money down, banks are willing to take a look at some projects.”
Some new homes have been built in recent years, including townhomes at the Franklin Place subdivision, the site of Presque Isle’s former Cunningham Middle School, as well as condominiums on Oak Street. Some of those units were sold for $138,000, in the case of the Oak Street properties, while the Franklin Place units were listed at $199,000.
Homes in rural communities can linger on the market, with the average days listed being 178 in Aroostook County, according to Towle.
“Some are priced aggressively and sell in two days, some for two years,” she said. “Homes linger on the market due to location and price. Every home will sell at the right price. If a home is priced right, it’s going to sell.”
