Deb's Maine Blog by Deborah Barouch

Maine Real Estate More Affordable

SOUTH PORTLAND (October 27,2008) - Maine's median sales price for a single family existing home was $177,750 in September 2008, down 6.45 percent from one year ago. The median sales price indicates that half of the homes were sold for more and half sold for less. According to the Maine Real Estate Information System, Inc., statewide (home) sales dipped 9.73 percent. Realtors reported that 928 homes changed hands during the month, compared to September 2007's statistic of 1,028 homes. Across the United States, single-family existing homes sales were up 3.8 percent in September. The National Association of Realtors reported a national median sales price of $190,600 represents an 8.6 percent decline over the past 12 months. Read the entire article courtesy of the Maine Association of Realtors What is your neighborhood absorption rate? Call me or email me for your local neighborhood absorption rate. What is a real estate ..(read more)

NAR Chief economist speaks to Portland Maine Realtors

Hello All- This was a packed room in which The chief economist for NAR spoke to the Portland Board of Realtors. The link to his interview is HERE. But basically, He was reporting that our[Maine] market has always followed the Boston marketplace. And good news! the Boston marketplace has turned upward statistically only recently. And interestingly, so have the major [over the top] markets turned just recently, including the overblown markets of Ft Myers and Las Vegas and parts of Arizona. They have a long way to go though. We are in a much better position because we did not rise as far or fall just as fast. Ours has been a much more stable market with a much smaller downside. Unfortunately we will not be able to predict the very bottom of the market. But even if you are just off a little bit, it is better that you not have missed it entirely. And the interest rates are unbelievably GOOD! So our advice ..(read more)

Spring Market has broken in greater Portland!

Spring Market has broken in greater Portland! In the past 2 weeks we have been negotiating a number of contracts for buyers in fairly competitive situations. Not only has the spring market broken but it appears to be quite competitive, some of the situations involved near misses on multiple offers! Easier guidelines for government loans recently passed by congress seem to be helping the lower price point of our marketplace. Some buyers who have never been able to buy a home are now eligible. This will ultimately fuel the mid-priced market where sellers of entry level properties will trade-up to the mid-price-point.

Escaping to Jamaica

It is always such a treat to leave for a sunny destination in Feb. We escaped with few problems and arrived at our resort at Sandals in Montego Bay. Our room was breathtaking with it's own balcony steps from the clear green warm sea. Jamaican music floated in the background. Our personal butler arrived with a cell phone to allow us to reach him at any time. Nagging thoughts of guilt were drowned out by our desire to embrace the warmth and the celebration of escape from routine and the Maine winter. Also it is always a pleasure to leave our country and experience other cultures. Because of spending most of my childhood in the underdeveloped world, this always feels like home.

The decision to sell a home or not in this marketplace

I have recently had conversations with several past clients who are struggling with the decision of whether or not to place their homes on the market this year. They all know that they wish to sell, but it is a matter of either waiting to sell until next year or selling this year. On the surface, a reasonable response might be, of course, to wait until next year, because of so may uncertainties. Surely, the market will be better next year. But will the market be better next year? or will it be worse? Since I have been in real estate since 1985, I lived through the last downturn in the late 80's and early 90's. In the last downturn, it took a year or so, after the Boston marketplace started to fall, for our marketplace to follow suit. Essentially, I believe, we mirror to a large degree the Boston marketplace. If folks in Boston[or Mass. in general] can cash out of their homes, and buy a retirement or vacation, or a primary home in Maine, for much less, and pocket the ..(read more)

The decision to sell a home or not in this marketplace

Snowy Maine

This winter has been snowy. Strangely enough, I have realized that I actually enjoy the silence and calmness that it provides. Life slows down a little. On heavy snow days, It is sometimes not possible to leave the house so there is more time for cooking and reading and just escape from multitasking. It offers a chance to think about the big picture.This is a rare opportunity in todays world. I actually remember life before email and sometimes I miss it.

Last minute snags to closing on upscale condo

I have been a Realtor since 1985 [continuously] but getting a transaction to the closing line is always a challenge. This is due changes that are continuously taking place in the industry. Last week we encountered several issues closing on an upscale condo in an upscale popular community. Approximately 1 week prior to closing, I received a call from the sellers notifying me that a pipe had frozen[but not burst] in their all new granite kitchen. Additionally, to further complicate matters, the pipes in question were located in the abutting neighbor's garage so any work needing to be done had to be done with their[the neighbor's] permission. I advised immediately that the sellers draft a letter to the buyers[ a busy surgeon from out of state] immediately to notify them of the situation and that they[the buyers] would be closely informed of any decisions the sellers would be making. Once this was done, the buyers called the neighbor and obtained permission to ..(read more)

Hot Benefits of this Market for Certain People

I have been in real estate in greater Portland [Maine]since 1985. 1990- 1993 were challenging markets, but I learned that there are definite benefits to this marketplace for certain people. It is a great opportunity to achieve significant equity, fairly quickly, that would be unobtainable otherwise in a hot sellers market. The first category of folks is the group who own a starter home and wish to move up the ladder to a more expensive home. They will take a small hit on their starter home but will reap much greater reward by selling their starter home and buying the more expensive home. It is a great opportunity to get much more of a home for less money and when the market takes off again, instant equity occurs. Of course, the wild card is always interest rates. Monthly payments can be much higher when interest rates increase. Bingo! That is why now is a good time to lock in your very low fixed rate and close on your more expensive home, which you will pay much less ..(read more)

Actual Selling Price? Do you want to know what homes are actually selling for and how fast they are selling in Greater Portland?

Are you thinking of buying a home or selling your current home, but want to educate yourself more on the current market? The following service is free and easy. Just fill out the linked form and you will immediately receive a free current market report in your e-mail. The report includes graphs showing recent sales vs. homes currently on the market, an interactive map, and much more. Click Here For your Customized Market Report!

Just in ! new local Southern Maine market statisitics

Have we bottomed out? The number of units in July '07 compared to the number of units sold in July '06 actually increased by 4% in Maine. The median sales price edged up a little bit also. Next month will tell us more. Stay tuned! Actually there are advantages to this current marketplace which does not seem to be appreciating quickly as in the several past years. If you are a seller of a "starter home" and you wish to buy a larger more upscale home, This market may work for you. Think about the following: You will take a small "hit" on your current home but you will have a much larger negotiating advantage on your purchase of a larger home. Therefore you will have gotten a "leg up" in terms of your equity position. This is the advice we gave our clients in the late 80's and early 90's in Southern Maine during the last real estate downturn. It turned out to be true and they have thanked us ever since. I can't believe that I have been doing this for over ..(read more)

Third Party Relo company creates last minute snafu.

It was interesting the new twist that occured in a recent closing. The sellers did not decide that our transaction could be under their employers' relocation benefit program until after we were fully under contract and all contingencies had been negotiated, Therefore the buyers had no obligation to comply. Nor did they feel any obligation to comply. After all, why dissolve your legal contract with the current sellers for a "Relo company", who has no obligation to move forward? This created hard feelings all around. The buyers feeling that they have been taken advantage of and the sellers feeling that they have lost out on benefits they could have received if the sellers had co-operated. It was ultimately resolved, but the buyers felt slightly out of sorts being "jerked around" by a complication they had nothing to do with, and which they were not contractually obligated to comply with.

Portland Maine named as preferred city

"INTOWN PORTLAND, a peninsula swirling counterclockwise into Casco Bay, lies in thick cultural layers. Starting at New England's third-largest fishing port, Portland Harbor, men and women in foul-weather bibs unload lobster traps and tubs of Atlantic cod. Next is the cobblestoned Old Port, with its boutiques, "commitment ring" jewelers, and Irish pubs. A few blocks away sit the studio and arts districts, with tattooed baristas at gritty cafés, agitprop-chic galleries, and, by sundown, live punk behind closed doors. A quarter of Maine's population lives in and around Portland, but you'd hardly know it come rush hour. Young professionals wear L.L.Bean fleeces and duck boots for all manner of business, even dates, thanks to the company's headquarters being 20 minutes up the road. With relatively mild winters, it's possible to commute by bike almost year-round, and with thick neoprene you can surf in winter. Twenty-six-square-mile Portland has more than 2,000 ..(read more)

pre-closing difficulties

I have been selling realestate for over 20 years but it never ceases to amaze me the difficulties that can come up before a closing. Last week we got a panicky call from a title company that informed me of an undischarged mortgage on the property we were about to close on. These things can be difficult to track down in a timely manner. Fortunately we found the local title company who had handled the "refinance" and I made a personal call to the owner to speed things forward so we could close on time. It pays to have local connections and a good network.

August in Maine is tranquilizing!

August is Maine is a treat that many visit here for. Those of us who live here need to remember to enjoy it! We have gotten out on Casco Bay quite a bit this summer on our boat. Since we keep our boat moored right off our neighborhood dock in the Seabourne Association in Yarmouth it is only a short stroll down the street to our beautiful waterfront. Many of our neighbors have kayaks or dingey's right on the dock. We all enjoy immediate access to numerous small islands. Last week we visited French's island. We pulled in to the little protected cove set out our anchor and rowed in in our dingey to explore. There is a lovely little sandy beach. Afterwards we picnicked on our boat before heading back cruising along between Little John island and Cheabeague island.It was quite choppy and we were glad to arrive back at our home dock and get our boat back on the mooring. Several days before that we headed out to Jewell island which is the farthest island ..(read more)