Featured Properties
68 Misty Way
Remarkable 3BR 2BA home completely renovated open floor plan on 1st floor w/cathedral ceilings, tongue & groove pine, master suite, 2 porches, walk … View this property
279 Main Street
Beautifully kept 3-4 BR Victorian with in-law suite, as well as 1 BR apartment. Near town, public trans, great for single family home w/rental income. … View this property
252 West Side Drive
Immaculate Raised Ranch w/12x32 tiled sun-room featuring cathedral ceilings, large windows & pellet stove, gorgeous kitchen w/island that is open to … View this property
78 Hoover Lane
Just a few feet from the water sits this remarkable 3BR, 2BA year round home. Partially finished walkout basement, perfect for entertaining. Large sunporch … View this property
Real Estate Blog
August 2010 Jobs Report Pushes Mortgage Rates Higher
On the first Friday of each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases Non-Farm Payrolls data for the month prior. The data is more commonly called "the jobs report" and it's a major factor in setting mortgage rates for residents of Maine and homeowners everywhere. Especially today, considering the economy. This is because, although it's believed that the recession of 2009 is over, there's … [Read More...]
August’s Fed Minutes Lead Mortgage Rates Higher
Home affordability took a slight hit this week after the Federal Reserve's release of its August 10 meeting minutes. The "Fed Minutes" is a lengthy, detailed recap of a Federal Open Market Committee meeting, not unlike the minutes published after a corporate conference, or condo association gathering. The Federal Reserve publishes its meeting minutes 3 weeks after a FOMC get-together. The minutes are … [Read More...]
Case-Shiller Posts 16th Straight Month Of Home Price Improvement
According to the Standard & Poors Case-Shiller Index, home values rose 5 percent in June versus the month prior, and 4 percent from a year earlier. It's the 16th consecutive month in which Case-Shiller reported an increase in home values and the third straight month of outstanding results. That said, homeowners and home buyers in Houlton would do well to temper Case-Shiller enthusiasm. The … [Read More...]
Mortgage Rates May Be Low, But They’re Tough To Pin Down — Especially This Week
Mortgage rates are low right now but pinning them down this week could be a challenge. As Labor Day Weekend nears and Wall Streeters take their head-start on the holiday, trading volume will fall, which will cause mortgage rates in Maine to get jumpy. As mortgage rates change, so does the long-term cost of owning a home. Every 1/8 percent adjustment changes a household budget. Meanwhile, the relationship … [Read More...]
Candlelight
"Some people ask the secret of our long marriage. We take time to go to a restaurant two times a week. A little candlelight, dinner, soft music and dancing. She goes Tuesdays. I go Fridays." Henny Youngman Perhaps your idea of romance is a candlelight dinner at home. All is well until you discover that the breeze from an open window, a fan, or a draft has caused a candle to drip wax … [Read More...]
What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : August 30, 2010
Mortgage markets improved last week despite a major mortgage bond sell-off Friday afternoon. Prior to the jump, conforming mortgage rates had cut new, all-time lows by Thursday, only to lose up to 0.250 percent on the last day of the week. Meanwhile, the same type of news that drove rates lower Monday through Thursday also contributed to rates rising Friday -- revised projections for the U.S. economy. … [Read More...]
Home Affordability Rankings For 225 Metropolitan Statistical Areas
With home prices holding firm and mortgage rates still dropping, home affordability is reaching new heights. According to the quarterly Home Opportunity Index as published by the National Association of Home Builders, more than 72 percent of all new and existing homes sold between April-June 2010 were affordable to families earning the national median income. It's a slightly higher reading as compared … [Read More...]
Read Past the Headline
MAINE HOME SALES DECREASE 30% IN JULY: In a press release today, MREIS reports Maine home sales decreased 30.07% in July 2010 compared with July 2009. The decrease was anticipated, reflective of the end of the federal tax credit which had created an accelerated demand to go under contract by a specific date. National home sales figures show a 25.6% decrease in that same time period, and … [Read More...]
New Home Sales Drop In July — Just Like Existing Home Sales
One day after the National Association of Realtors released the softest Existing Home Sales report since 1995, the U.S. Census Bureau released a similarly-weak New Home Sales report. Americans bought just 276,000 newly-built homes in July. That marks the fewest units sold since the government started keeping records in 1963. In addition, although new home inventory actually dropped 2,000 units in July, … [Read More...]
Existing Home Sales Plummet In July; Home Buyers Gain Leverage
The number of home resales plunged by 1.4 million units in July, according to the National Association of Realtors®' Existing Home Sales report. It's a drop of 27 percent from June; single-family home resales are at the report's lowest levels since May 1999. Furthermore, because of the sharp drop in sales volume, home inventories are spiking. Homes for sale nationwide fell just short of 4 million … [Read More...]
Shannon Odom – Northeast Bank
Justin Cartier – RE/MAX Advantage Realty Group
Michelle Ridley – Realty of Maine
Chris Olsen – Prudential Northeast Properties
Travis Pelletier – RE/MAX Advantage Realty Group
Susan Estes – Consumer Title