Maine saw home prices rise in September despite a continued sales slump. Buyers closed deals on 1,526 homes last month, down 4.2% from 1,592 in September 2025, according to the Maine Association of Realtors. Meanwhile, the median sales price for a Maine home rose 2.6% year over year to $415,000. That sales decline came after a 10% year-over-year slump in August and after a stellar July that saw home listings exceed 6,200 for the first time since December 2019 and 77 daily sales, making it the eighth best July for home sales since 2000. Judy Oberg, the president of the Maine Association of Realtors and an associate broker at family-owned Oberg Insurance & Real Estate Agency in Bridgton, on Tuesday attributed the slowdown to a seasonal adjustment, as well as inflation and mortgage rates at a three-year high that are squeezing out less monied buyers. “With more homes for sale, the upside for buyers is that … they have more choices, more time, less competition, and more advantage to negotiate a purchase price that matches the current demand,” Oberg said. Maine isn’t alone in seeing a sales slump. Nationally, home sales fell 1.9% in September, while the median sales price nudged up 1.2% to $422,700, according to the National Association of Realtors. In the Northeast, sales dropped 4.1% year over year, but the median sales price jumped 4.7% to $523,600. On the county level in Maine, the most significant increase in median home prices for the three-month period ending Sept. 30 was in Hancock County, where it rose 18.4% to $527,962, compared with the same time last year. Lincoln (8.2%), Franklin (7.6%%), Sagadahoc (6%) and Somerset (5.4%) counties also saw notable increases in sale prices for that three-month period. The highest median home price during that period was in Cumberland County, where it reached $614,950, up about 1.6% from the same time a year ago. The median home price fell most sharply in Washington (5.4%), Oxford (3.7%) and Androscoggin (2.8%) counties for that three-month period. Aroostook had the lowest median home price overall ($174,900). On the sales front, Hancock County saw the largest sales bump for the three-month period ending Sept. 30, increasing about 16%. It was followed by Lincoln (15%), Waldo (6.4%) and Washington (4.2%) counties. Sales fell most sharply in York (9.2%), Piscataquis (8.2%), Franklin (6.8%), Knox (5.7%) and Somerset (4.8%) counties during that period.
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