As Always, Real Estate is Local.

I saw on the news a few days ago that real estate values in California have dropped by 28% this past year. Having moved to Maine from California about 7 years ago, I quickly calculated that this means someone who owns a $400,000 home there (which doesn't buy much in most of California) now owns a home worth $288,000 !

I compare this to Maine, where median home values went UP slightly in both July and August, and dropped DOWN in value slightly in September (overall, a 1.04% decrease over the previous year). The national median sales price had a decrease of 4.9% for September alone.

Further, Knox County, where I am located in mid-coast Maine, had a sales increase of units sold from July 1 to September 30 of 21.71% and an increase of median sales price of 8.33%, compared to statewide figures of -1.49% units sold and +1.56% increase of medain prices.

All of which just goes to support the proposition that real estate is indeed very local in nature, despite the doomsday blitz by the national media....

Real Estate Sales Up Again in August

For the second month in a row, the Maine Association of Realtors reports that the sales of single-family existing homes in Maine has increased, with 1,425 homes sold across the state during August 2007 -- a 6.74% increae from last August's total of 1,335 homes sold. The median sales price for those homes sold remained unchanged at $195,000. Nationally, sales of single-family existing homes dropped 13% compared to August 2006. For the regional Northeast, the National Associaton of Realtors reported sales were down 5.7% from one year ago.

But, even as Maine seems to be bucking the trend compared to most other areas, it still remains a strong buyers market -- and most investors love buyers markets because they say THEY don't feel pressured -- sellers do...

A Very Unique Real Estate Purchase

Fulfilling a dream to someday live "off the grid", Kevin and Rebecca Kelly of Starkville, Mississippi -- with the assistance of Waterfront Properties of Maine -- recently completed the purchase of the easternmost piece of privately held real estate in the continental United States.

Abutting the West Quoddy Head Lighthouse at the Northeastern tip of the coast of Maine, the 10 acre parcel they purchased has views of the Atlantic Ocean and across Passamaquoddy Bay to Campobello Island, Canada.

Historically significant for many reasons, the construction of the West Qouddy Head Lighthouse was authorized by Thomas Jefferson in 1806.

Campobello Island is best known as the site of the summer residence of Franklin D. and Eleanor Roosevelt, who had a "cottage" there. This property has since been made into a park and is visited by tens of thousands of visitors each year.

Kevin Kelly is a graphic designer who owns Pixel Pushers Design Studio. Rebecca is Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Mississippi State University.

They plan to eventually build their new home on this spectacular property.

Les Taylor, of Waterfront Properties of Maine, helped the Kellys locate this property and acted as the Buyer's Broker in this transaction.

Maine Bucks the Trend !!!

While most of the rest of the country is experiencing a continued slump in the real estate market, sales and prices of Maine's single family homes rose over 4% in July. The Maine Association of Realtors reports that 4.26% more homes sold this July when compared to July 2006. Not only did sales increase, but the median sales prices increased 4.74%. A total of 1,247 homes sold during July 2007, up from last July's sales of 1,196 homes. The median sales price reached $199,000 -- a 4.74% increase from July 2006's price of $190,000. Nationally, sales of existing, single family homes dropped 9.3% from July 2006.. According to NAR, the national median sales price dipped 1%.

Mortgage Rates Fall Again

Washington D.C. - Mortgage rates fell for the third straight week after rising substantially over the previous two months, according to Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored loan buyer. They reported the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan declined to 6.59 percent for the week ending August 9,2007 -- from 6.68 percent the previous week.

Both the tightening of underwriting standards and slackening house price appreciation are possible contributing factors to the declione.

In its latest report, Freddie Mac said that rates on 15-year fixed-rate loans averaged 6.25 percent, five-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 6.33 percent and one-year ARMs averaged 5.65 percent.

Just the Facts: June Home Sales

It's beginning to sound like a broken record but, once again, the monthly figures reported by the Maine Association of Realtors indicates June sales were down -- but prices went up. There were 1,316 single family homes sold in June 2007 -- a 16.76% decrease from June 2006, when 1,581 homes sold. The median sales price for homes sold in June 2007 reached $199,950 -- up 0.48%. The median sales price indicates that half of the homes were sold for more and half were sold for less. According to the National Association of Realtors, sales of existing single-family homes fell 12.1% in the past year, while the national median sales price increased 0.1% to $230,300. Regional sales were down 7.3% in the Northeast, with prices up 1.8% to $294,400 from last June.

Cool Stuff: Go to an Old-Fashioned Country Fair

If you would like to see one of the best agricultural fairs in Maine, be sure to mark August 19th through 25th on your calender for the Union Fair/Maine Wild Blueberry Festival.

First held in 1869 as a harvest festival where local farm families could compete in agricultural events and display their livestock, field crops, agricultural implements, dairy products, fruits and homemade crafts such as quilts, embroidery and rugs -- most people traveled to the fair with a horse and wagon, while some came via the Georges Valley Railroad for a fare of 40 cents.

The modern version of this fair (where people arrive by horseless carriage) has managed to retain its strong agricultural flavor, which still has all the above activities, but over the years has added many exciting features. Some of these not-to-be-missed events include:

* pig scrambles
* daily harness horse racing
* oxen pulling contest
* watermelon seed spitting contest
* rooster crowing & hen cackling
* wild blueberry pie eating contest
* demolition derby
* tractor pulling
* many midway/carnival rides
* bubblegum blowing contest
* real country battle of the bands
* all you can eat pancake contest

There's much, much more to see and do at this fair... for more details go to:
www.unionfair.org