Paul McKee, president of the Maine Association of Realtors and a broker with Keller Williams Realty, outside a home in Portland’s West End on Thursday that his group put on the market last week. McKee said Maine’s home inventory shortage appears to be easing, but not enough to counter demand. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

More Maine homes are hitting the market, suggesting the years-long inventory squeeze may be loosening, but real estate experts say it’s not enough to counter demand or lower the near-record-high prices.

The median home sale price in Maine last month was $399,250 – a 5% increase over the year before but a slight dip from the record high of $406,000 reported in June, according to data released Thursday by the Maine Association of Realtors.

After years of month-over-month declines, home sales have inched upward almost every month in 2024 and July continued the trend. Closings increased almost 11% compared to July 2023, with 1,482 homes changing hands.

Paul McKee, president of the Maine Association of Realtors, said Maine’s inventory shortage appears to be easing, but not enough to counter demand.

There were 4,705 homes on the market in July. It marks the fifth month of what McKee said previously is a “notable improvement” in the number of active listings and the highest level of inventory in almost four years, since October 2020.

“However, unit sales continue to gain as well, keeping Maine’s for-sale inventory at a 3.2-month supply level. A ‘balanced market’ for both buyers and sellers is a 6-month supply level,” said McKee, who is also a broker with Keller Williams Realty.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors said the record-high home prices seen across much of the country in recent months are both good and bad news.

“It’s terrific news for homeowners who are moving ahead in wealth gains. However, it’s difficult for those wanting to buy a home as the required income to qualify has roughly doubled from just a few years ago,” he said.

However, he expects affordability will improve soon.

“Mortgage rates have fallen measurably, and more supply is reaching the market. Therefore, the income required to buy a home will decrease,” he said. 

According to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.49% as of Aug. 15. That’s up from 6.47% the week before but down from 7.09% one year ago.

The Maine Association of Realtors also looks at three months of data in county-by-county comparisons to get a larger sample size of sale transactions.

Sales inched upward by about 1.2% between May 1 and July 30 compared to the same period last year, while prices increased about 5.3% to $400,000.

The number of sales statewide was a mixed bag, with seven counties reporting decreases and eight reporting increases. Sales in Sagadahoc County were flat. At both ends of the spectrum, closings decreased by almost 23% in Piscataquis County and increased by 18.5% in Waldo County.

Cumberland County remains the most expensive county in Maine, with a median sale price of $585,000, a 6.4% increase over the same three-month period last year. York County was the second highest, with a $530,000 median, a 9.2% increase.

Franklin County saw the largest price increase, a 35.4% jump from $240,000 to $325,000.

Meanwhile, prices remained flat in Aroostook County at $155,000 and fell in four others. Washington County saw the biggest price decrease – a 9.6% dip from $240,000 to $217,000.

Nationally, single-family home sales grew about 1% last month compared to July 2023, but the median price also increased 4% to $428,500, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Regionally, home sales in the Northeast climbed 2% from the prior year but prices jumped almost more than 8% to a median of $505,100.