Central Maine Blog

Transfer Taxes and Balancing the State Budget - What it may mean to you
June 6th, 2007 7:38 PM
 

Important Legislative Issue

For Sellers:

Attention Seller - URGENT:  The Taxation Committee of the Maine Legislature is considering increasing the real estate transfer tax (a tax paid at the time a property sells) to $6 per $1,000 for primary residences under $300,000 and $15 per $1,000 for properties $1,000,000 or higher.  All other real estate (land, second homes, and businesses under $1m) would be increased to $10 per $1,000.  They claim this is "tax fairness" and that you as a real estate seller in Maine should have the obligation to solve the property tax crisis and other financial burdens in Maine when your home sells.  The Maine Association of REALTORS believes this is YOUR money and they need to keep their hands out of your home.  We're also concerned that buyers will not be able to afford their additional taxes and it will further slow down the number of buyers willing to buy in Maine.  Additional information about the proposal can be found at http://www.maineshakedown.com

We URGE you to contact legislators IMMEDIATELY to explain to them that you want to keep YOUR money and not pay any extra taxes in Maine solely because you want to sell your home.  Message:  You are trying to sell your home and should NOT have to pay additional taxes at the time of sale! 
To look up contact information for your legislators, go to this link - http://janus.state.me.us/house/townlist.htm
 

For Buyers:

Attention Buyer - URGENT:  The Taxation Committee of the Maine Legislature is considering increasing the real estate transfer tax (a tax paid at the time a property sells) to $6 per $1,000 for primary residences under $300,000, and $15 per $1,000 for properties $1,000,000 or higher.  All other real estate (land, second homes, and businesses under $1m) would be increased to $10 per $1,000.   They claim this is "tax fairness" and that you as a real estate buyer in Maine should have the obligation to solve the property tax crisis and other financial burdens in Maine when you buy a home.  They believe that since this tax is "less than New Hampshire" that it won't matter to you if you end up needing to pay hundreds or thousands of additional dollars in taxes at closing.  The Maine Association of REALTORS believes this is YOUR money and they need to stay away from taking any additional part of the money that you will need for your home purchase.  Additional information about the proposal can be found at http://www.maineshakedown.com

We URGE you to contact legislators IMMEDIATELY to explain to them that you want to keep YOUR money and not pay any extra taxes solely because you want to buy a home in Maine.                 Message:  You are trying to buy a home and should NOT have to pay additional taxes when you do! 
To look up contact information for your legislators by town, go to this link - http://janus.state.me.us/house/townlist.htm

 

Posted by Rachel Anderson on June 6th, 2007 7:38 PMPost a Comment (0)

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Maine Home Sales Stats
June 25th, 2007 7:36 PM
MAY HOME SALES DOWN: In a press release to the media today, MREIS reports that statewide real estate sales of single family, existing homes decreased 18.56% during the month of May when compared with the same month the prior year; and a statewide median sales price drop of just over 2 percent to $193,000 in May. The median sales price indicates that half of the homes were sold for more and half sold for less. When statistics from the months of March, April and May 2007 are combined and compared to the same period last year, the statewide median sales price increased 1.56% to $195,000. Sales units were down 14.85% in the rolling quarter. NAR calculated a 10.8% drop in single family, existing homes in May 2007. The median sales price for those homes dipped 2.4% to $223,000 during the past 12 months. In the Northeast, regional existing home sales were down 3.5 percent. The median sales price reached $282,700, a 0.5% increase.

When statistics from the months of March, April and May 2007 are combined and compared to the same period last year, the statewide median sales price actually rose 1.56 percent to $195,000. Sales were down 14.85 percent in the rolling quarter.

ROLLING QUARTER CHART

From March 1, 2006- May 31, 2006 to March 1, 2007- May 31, 2007

    County # Units Sold # Units Sold % MSP MSP % Chng                   2006 2007 Chng 2006 2007

STATEWIDE 3447 2935 -14.85% $192,000 $195,000 1.56%

Androscoggin 263 232 -11.79% $165,861 $161,750 -2.48%

Aroostook 93 82 -11.83% $79,388 $83,185 4.78%

Cumberland 877 779 -11.17% $248,000 $245,500 -1.01%

Franklin 96 58 -39.58% $139,950 $124,950 -10.72%

Hancock 127 116 -8.66% $200,000 $212,750 6.38%

Kennebec 281 261 -7.12% $152,000 $146,000 -3.95%

Knox 109 99 -9.17% $240,000 $225,000 -6.25%

Lincoln 68 80 17.65% $208,000 $239,100 14.95%

Oxford 172 128 -25.58% $155,000 $135,000 -12.90%

Penobscot 413 303 -26.63% $140,000 $146,500 4.64%

Piscataquis 54 36 -33.33% $102,500 $90,798 -11.42%

Sagadahoc 108 80 -25.93% $191,650 $210,000 9.57%

Somerset 95 85 -10.53% $112,000 $109,900 -1.88%

Waldo 95 73 -23.16% $152,000 $146,200 -3.82%

Washington 18 18 0.00% $113,750 $90,990 -20.01%

York 578 505 -12.63% $234,900 $230,500 -1.87%

Source: Maine Real Estate Information System, Inc. Note: MREIS, a subsidiary of the Maine Association of REALTORS, is a statewide Multiple Listing Service with over 5,800 licensees inputting active and sold property listing data. Statistics reflect properties reported as sold in the System within the time periods indicated.

 

 
Posted by Rachel Anderson on June 25th, 2007 7:36 PMPost a Comment (0)

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