August was a great month to buy a home in southern Maine … for millionaires
Southern Maine’s housing market is splitting into two tracks: luxury waterfront properties are commanding ever‑higher prices, while overall sales activity is easing despite a glut of homes on the market.
In August, the median sale price in Cumberland County reached $615,000, a slight dip from July but still well above the half‑million mark for most towns. Meanwhile, York County posted its first‑ever median above $600,000 at $605,000. More than one in five municipalities across the two counties now report median prices over $800,000, reflecting a continued surge in demand for high‑end coastal real estate.
The price spike is most pronounced along the shore. Harpswell topped Cumberland County with a median of $1.42 million, although that figure rests on just four transactions. Falmouth, with 27 sales, logged a median of $1.15 million. Kennebunkport and Ogunquit also crossed the $1 million threshold, while Kennebunk, Kittery, Chebeague Island, Freeport, Cumberland and Cape Elizabeth all saw medians above $900,000.
At the same time, the market is seeing more choice for buyers. Active listings swelled to 6,258 in August – the highest level since December 2019 – giving shoppers more options than they have had in years. Yet sales slowed: 1,542 single‑family homes changed hands, roughly a 10 % drop from both July and the same month a year earlier.
Real‑estate professionals attribute the slowdown to financing costs. Judy Oberg, president of the Maine Association of Realtors, noted that a “late‑summer cool down is not uncommon for the seasonally driven market” and said she expects to see “motivated and focused sellers and buyers” moving into the fall. Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, echoed the sentiment, stating, “Mortgage rates and home sales move in opposite directions, so it’s not surprising to see a mild dip in home buying activity due to high mortgage rates.” Freddie Mac data show the average 30‑year mortgage rate at 6.67 % in August, climbing to 6.76 % by the week the story was filed – a year‑to‑date high.
Statewide, the median price stood at $424,550, up 4.3 % from August 2024 and essentially flat compared with July’s $425,000. Nationally, the median rose just under 2 % to $434,800, while the Northeast posted a 4 % gain to $556,900.
County‑level figures illustrate the uneven picture. Piscataquis County saw the steepest decline, with its median falling 9.5 % to $239,000. Androscoggin County’s median held steady at $360,000. In contrast, Hancock County jumped 18 % to a median of $527,500 – the largest increase in the state – and Kennebec County rose 10 %. Sales trends were similarly mixed: Androscoggin County experienced the biggest drop in transactions, down 7 % over the rolling quarter, while Somerset County posted the only double‑digit gain, up 11 %.
The data suggest that while affluent buyers continue to push luxury waterfront prices upward, higher borrowing costs are tempering overall market activity, leaving a split landscape where high‑end sales thrive even as the broader market cools.
