MIDCOAST MAINE REAL ESTATE REPORT, MARCH 2013

We have begun the new year with a renewed feeling of optimism about the high-end real estate market in Maine. A slight increase in sales statewide, some robust activity in select regions, and a shift in media commentary all have us feeling more positive about the direction of real estate on the [...]

Market Highlights

• Record number of high-end $2,000,000 + sales, up 84% from 2011 and 4.5% above the peak in 2007
• Cape Cod record sale of 17 Indian Trail in Osterville at $19,500,000. Overall the number of $5,000,000+ sales was about the same as last year.
• Inventories are shrinking slowly, but still represent 2 years of absorption and 3 years at the $5,000,000+
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MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

• Record number of high-end $2,000,000+ sales, up 65% from 2011 and more than twice the number of sales in 2009.
• Record sale on Fairhaven Hill in Concord at $8,600,000. 74% of high-end sales $2,000,000 to $3,000,000; 5% of sales above $5,000,000.
• Inventories are healthy at all levels relative to sales.
• Strong performance in other high-end markets across New England suggests a return to a more balanced market, driven by significant price adjustments and pent-up
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The South Shore of Massachusetts is a geographic region stretching south and east from Boston toward CapeCod along the shores of Massachusetts Bay and Cape Cod Bay. It is subject to varying descriptions but is typicallythought to include municipalities in eastern Norfolk and Plymouth counties. For our purposes, we look at theregion as all [...]

Middlesex County, Massachusetts, is the most populous county in New England and is located west and northwest of Boston. It contains some of the wealthier towns in Massachusetts and was recently ranked 10th in the country in terms of the number of millionaires. It includes urban, suburban, and rural areas reaching from urban Cambridge, home [...]

Cape Cod is internationally famous as a summer resort area and is increasingly popular for retirement living. It features miles of beaches, natural attractions, historic sites, art galleries, and four star restaurants and hotels. Outdoor activities include world class yachting, coastal and deep-sea fishing, numerous public and private golf [...]