Home sale prices are down in these Maine cities

In several surprising areas of Maine, the housing market appears to be slightly cooling after years of soaring sale prices.

Home values in these communities — particularly those in southern Maine — still sit well above Maine’s average home value of $392,000, unaffordable on the average household income . But the downturn in values signals that demand for housing might be steadying. A huge, pandemic-era wave of in-migration has since settled, and high interest rates — expected to top 7 percent in the coming weeks — mean homeowners are hesitant to enter the market, realtors say.

“Some buyers that were thinking they would be active in the market right now have pumped the brakes, or slowed down their search, in hopes that the interest rates might come down a bit,” Julie Williams, the designated broker and owner of Bangor-based ERA Dawson Bradford Co., said.

Those high interest rates, coupled with low housing inventory, mean it’s not only buyers holding back. Sellers are, too, Williams said, with many unsure if they’ll find a place to move to once their property is sold.

Here are four Maine cities (and one town) where we can see this dynamic playing out. Zillow and Redfin have home values and home sale prices dipping in these places in the last year, and a couple might surprise you.

Bangor

Typical home values in the Queen City are around $263,000 right now, which is a 48 percent decrease from what they were last year, according to Zillow . Redfin has median home sale prices down about 3 percent compared to last year.

South Portland

Despite it being a suburb of Maine’s largest city, South Portland has actually seen a 54 percent decrease in average home values this year, according to Zillow . They now sit at just over $498,000. Redfin also has the median home sale price in South Portland dropping around 6 percent in the last year.

Waterville

Waterville has seen a 58 percent drop in home values in the last year, and the average home is now valued at around $230,000, according to Zillow . Redfin has the median home sale price a whopping 34 percent lower than it was this time last year — averaging at $170,000.

Kennebunk

Surprisingly, Kennebunk, a pricey coastal town in York County, has seen a 51 percent drop in home values in the last year, according to Zillow . Values have now fallen below $600,000, and Redfin has the median sales price dipping 8 percent compared to February last year.

Belfast

Though home prices are still skyrocketing in nearby Camden and Rockland, Belfast has seen a 53 percent drop in home values in the past year, according to Zillow . They now sit at around $360,000. Redfin has home sale prices down by 14 percent compared to this time last year.

Maine’s Multiple Listing Service also has median sales prices here decreasing 23 percent from March 2023 to 2024, but Becky Nightingale Johns, a Belfast-based realtor with Worth Real Estate Inc., cautioned the dips seen in Belfast and in other Maine communities are part of expected fluctuations in the market.

“There’s no indication that in the long-term, prices are going to decrease. It’s going upwards, just not as fast as it did in the ‘unicorn years,’” Nightingale Johns said. “It’s like weighing yourself every day. Don’t look at the [Multiple Listing Service] every day.”