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Fantastic Value $495,000
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Greetings!
"I looked along the San Juan Islands and the coast of California, but I couldn't find the palette of green, granite, and dark blue that you can only find in Maine." - Parker Stevenson Who doesn't love Maine in the summer! Palettes of green, granite and blue seem to describe this time of year perfectly. Sure, it's been hot lately, but when we think back to our time in Atlanta, Maine summer's are simply the best! A trip to the beach or a nearby lake, uncrowded and unspoiled, can easily be taken for granted. Seeing how we're at the half way point of the year, we have updated our sales reports, by town, on our website. For more details on these sales reports, visit online at Maine Communities and click to the individual town or city. If these is a particular report not included, we can prepare a custom one for you - just let us know. We have also included a feature story (below) on luxury real estate across Maine that you might find interesting. Our third story this month includes a recent video of Robert Shiller, the co-creator of the Case-Shiller Housing Index. He has some interesting commentary on where prices have been and are going. Finally we wrap-up with a report prepared by the FCIC on the "reasons" behind the financial meltdown. Only the government could prepare a report like this!
We wish you a happy summer season and thank you for your continued support - it is greatly appreciated. |
Local Real Estate UpdateSales Reports for the first six months of 2011
We have just updated our half year real estate sales results for the greater Portland area. You can view details comparing the first six months of this year compared to a similar period last year on our website.
Across the entire state of Maine there have been 4,218 single family home sales in 2011 compared to 5,171 during a similar period in 2010. This represents a decrease of 18%. This trend is the same when looking at southern Maine, where home sales in Cumberland County are down 16%. Sales in York County are similarly down 17%.
According to statistics provided by MRIES, inventory is also high at this time. There are a staggering 16,066 single family homes for sale in Maine. In Cumberland County there are 2,388 on the market and another 2,572 in York County. Learn More ...
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Luxury Real Estate Sales
2011 vs 2010
 What is the luxury home market? In many markets around the country it is defined as the top 10% of all homes listed by price, or homes that offer unique features within a specific price range. Using the 10% calculation, with just over 1,600 single family homes for sale in Maine, this would be only 160 properties.
Naturally, generalities don't always apply. Currently in Maine there are 535 homes for sale priced at $1,000,000 or more. In many ways this is somewhat out-of-balance given the overall size of our housing market.
Of these, 461 (86%) are located along the ocean or a lake. 461 homes is also considerably higher than the 10% often used. Learn More .... |
Robert Shiller Expresses Optimism
Home Prices Trending Up?
 For those of you who may not be familiar with Robert Shiller, he is an economics professor at Yale University and co-creator of the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index.
In the interview below, with Carol Massar and Matt Miller of Bloomberg Television's "Street Smart", he discusses U.S. home prices, and the outlook for the housing market and the economy. Learn More....
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Lessons Learned from the Financial Crisis
History Still in the Making 
Earlier this year the Federal Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) released its report into American economic collapse of 2007-2010. The Commission has often been compared to the Pecora Commission, which investigated the causes of the Great Depression in the 1930s. Analogies have also been made to the 9/11 Commission, which examined the September 11 terrorist attacks. For those so inclined, the entire 662 page report, in all its bombastic glory, can be downloaded at: FCIC Report . Although I personally have not read the entire report I am familiar with its findings. I was recently considering the "what did we learn" aspect of this report when I came across some comments from economist Robert Shiller ( Case-Shiller Home Price Index ) who remarked that he would not be surprised if there was another 10% to 25% plunge in home prices. The feared "double dip" At the S&P Housing Summit in New York in June, Shiller reiterated his fears of declining home prices. He was careful, however, to stress that this was not a "forecast" but rather commentary based on his understanding of housing market trends. As these comments illustrate, history has a funny way of revealing itself after the fact. As the summary of the FCIC report below illustrates, the reason there is no clear culprit in the economic collapse might be because the book is not fully written. Some conclusions from the report Learn More ... |
Thank you for your continued support. As with everything we do we constantly strive to set a standard of professionalism uncommon in our industry. If you are thinking of buying or selling - or know of someone who is, it would be our privilage to assist them.
Sincerely,
Michael & Laura Sosnowski
Maine Home Connection |
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