Portland me Luxury Real Estate

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.

2011 vs 2010 Luxury Home Sales

During the first six months of 2011 there have been 49 sales of homes priced at or above $1, 000, 000 compared to 53 during a similar period in 2010. Although this is a relatively small percentage of overall home sales, the amount of decline year-over-year (7.5%) is much less than the entire market (see post dated July 14, 2011). The median selling price in 2011 has been $1, 200, 000 compared to $1, 300, 000 in 2010. Interestingly, the median price of those homes currently on the market is $1, 600, 000 – quite a bit higher than what has actually sold.

The median time for a home to sell, in this price range, was 215 days in 2011. Conversely, homes priced below $1, 000, 000 across the entire state, were on the market only 100 days in 2011 and 74 days in 2010.

When it comes to high-end real estate sales statistics in Maine, the results can be quite volatile. Due to the vast differences and distances in geography and the overall limited number of sales each moth, it can be difficult to draw conclusions that are universally applicable.

Sebago Lakes Region

One of the most popular places for luxury homes in Maine is the Sebago Lakes Region. Currently there are 18 homes on the market priced at $1, 000, 000 or greater and only 3 have sold in the last six months. None are currently pending and none were sold during the first six months of 2010, just confirming the limited size and overall volatility of the market.