April saw a continued increase in home sales prices, close to $20K jump over March, even real estate agents surprised
Portland, ME – Fueled by an increase in demand, much from out-of-state buyers, Portland’s residential real estate market remained strong in April. Portland’s overall median sales price increased from $514,500 in March to $533,250 in April. In contrast to March, the number of April sales was slightly down, and listings increased by a modest six properties. The median sales price for condos and multi-families increased over March, while Portland’s single families fell slightly.
“We are still seeing strong demand from both in and outside the state, with more buyers than we have listings”, said Benchmark Real Estate owner, Tom Landry. He said that most real estate agents, himself included, anticipated higher prices to lead to more listings. But that hasn’t happened.
Landry said many sellers are reluctant to sell if it puts them into the same market as a buyer. “While they can do well on the sale, they’re afraid they won’t find something to buy and/or have to pay just as much, if not more, for that next home.” He said he also sees the lingering effect of Covid. “Some sellers are still uncomfortable having people come through their home and going through the moving process right now.”
Landry added a word of caution when looking at month over month stats. “A few sales can skew the overall numbers of course. All real estate is local, hyper local.” He said that to understand how the numbers impact a specific property, one needs to take an even more focused view. “Value is based on location, condition, property type, and proximity to amenities.” He advised anyone listing or buying in Portland to work with their agent to understand the current market value for a particular property.
But he said in a market moving as fast and increasing as much as this one, that even the most experienced agents are having a hard time nailing down a list price. “That’s why we are seeing so many over asking sales prices, there are so few comparable properties to base price on. It’s all about what someone is willing to pay right now.”
Included below, April 2021 statistics are contrasted with 2020. As one would expect, when compared to April 2020, the market was significantly more active and prices much higher this past month. April 2020 numbers start to show the impacts of the pandemic with a large drop in prices, sales, and listings, making it difficult to continue comparing year over year going forward. Landry said, “Portland has set new price records, and while people talk of a bubble, I don’t see the market falling back to pre-pandemic levels. A new bar has been set.”
The statistics below were prepared by Benchmark Real Estate using data from Maine Listings.
highest & lowest sales of april 2021
