Competition among national real estate sites is very competitive, to say the least. Keeping track of the top 10 visited each month is an obsession, since it has such a direct bearing on advertising revenue. According to Hitwise, a national tracking service, the sites with the highest market shares in the month of November 2008 were:
1. Realtor.com
2. Yahoo Real Estate
3. Zillow.com
4. ZipRealty.com
5. Rent.com
6. RE/MAX.com
7. HomeGain.com
8. Service Magic.com
9. US Dept of Housing and Urban Development
10. RealtyTrac.com
The interesting thing about these results, however, is that most people who eventually are ready to buy a home do local searches. For example, someone searching in southern Maine will start with a key word search like "Portland Maine Real Estate". That is why we have devoted ourselves to search engine optimization (SEO) on a local and regional level. Any search of important key words will result in you finding our website MaineHomeConnection near the top of the organic search results.
When it comes to national real estate websites, one thing to keep in mind is that it is all about advertising. That is essentially their only revenue stream. Local real estate websites do not focus on advertising, but rather on providing information that people need and want when making home buying and selling decisions.
For example, we have devoted countless hours creating rich content that helps potential buyers understand the Maine real estate market. Although this may sound self-serving, special features such as Relocation Services, Community Profiles and Maine Waterfront Real Estate are customer centric first and foremost.
For September 2008 and Q3 2008 National foreclosure filings were reported on 265,968 properties representing a 12% decrease from the previous month but still a 21% increase from September 2007. One in every 475 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing in September.
In its most recent report completed by RealtyTrac, Maine ranked 41st in the country in total foreclosures, with one in every 2,996 homes receiving a foreclosure filing. Filings are down 4.1% for the Q3 vs Q2, but up over 1,000% compared to last year. Percentage increases can often sound startling, but in reality be somewhat misleading. 102 foreclosures in York County represent 1 in every 1,006 housing units. 42 foreclosures in Cumberland County represent 1 in every 3.137 housing units.
Percentage increases can often sound startling, but in reality be somewhat misleading. 102 foreclosures in York County represent 1 in every 1,006 housing units. 42 foreclosures in Cumberland County represent 1 in every 3.137 housing units.
Foreclosre information is based collected by RealtyTrac, which publishes the largest and most comprehensive national database of foreclosure and bank-owned properties, with over 1.5 million properties from over 2,200 counties across the country, and is the foreclosure data provider to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate and The Wall Street Journal’s Real Estate Journal.
At our website - MaineHomeConnection - we just updated our 2008 homes sales statistics through the first three quarters of 2008. Sales results are available for York and Cumberland Counties in total, as well as selected individual cities and towns. Details are available at the link Home Sales and individual City pages.
Although unit sales for both single-family homes and condos are down in virtually every town, pricing has not experienced the same dramatic decreases, which is encouraging for sellers.
For the month of September the median sales price for a single-family existing home was $177,750, down 6.5% from one year ago. Unit sales were down 9.7% compared to the same period of 2007.
Nationally, some good news was achieved in home sales as unit sales were up 3.8% in September. The National Association of Realtors also reported a national median sales price of $190,600, which represents an 8.6% decline over the past 12 months. Regionally, sales in the Northeast were 7.7% lower than a year ago. The regional median sales price was $246,800-a decrease of 5.4%.
The latest Case Shiller housing numbers are also out, updated through July 2008. The numbers continue to improve slightly, at least the rate of housing price declines is slowing. It's interesting to see Tampa, one of the hardest hit markets, show no change in prices in the latest report. And you'd never guess from Charlotte's consistent position as the least effected housing market that it's a center for banking and finance. The monthly readings provided by Case Shiller are a smoothed three month moving average. For more on what the Case Shiller index is, visit our recent newsletter or the article Case Shiller on our website.
Real Estate consultants serving southern Maine, including Portland, Falmouth, Cape Elizabeth & Scarborough. Full featured web site features local area info, market updates and relocation assistance.
Maine is a beautiful state - one that is often misunderstood. First and foremost, it does not snow 12 months a year! Is is cold in the winter - yes, but spring, summer and fall are often fantastic. If you love the ocean, we have over 3,000 miles of coastline. There are mountains and lakes and best of all they are never crowded.
We live in southern Maine - Portland to be specific. The greater Portland area includes about 250,000 people and includes the cities and towns of Falmouth, Cape Elizabeth, Scarborough, South Portland, Yarmouth and Cumberland. We are about 1.5 hours north of Boston and a 5 hour drive from NYC. Portland been recognized nationally by many organizations. The city and local area is considered by many to be an excellent place to live, raise a family and conduct business. They city combines many elements of big city life and a rural, beautiful setting along Casco Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The Old Port, an exciting section of the downtown Peninsula that has seen considerable renovation of the years, is known for intimate shops with everything from apparel and fine china to children's toys and antiques and rare books. A few blocks down Congress Street is the Arts District, home to the Portland Ballet Company, the Maine College of Art and the Portland Museum of Art.
When Maine is all about the ocean and the outdoors. The coast, measured directly from one end to the other, is only 228 miles. So, many people are surprised to learn that Maine's shoreline (3,478 miles) is longer than California's (3,427 miles) and is only exceeded in length by 2 continental states, Florida (8,426 miles) and Louisiana (7,721 miles of mostly bayou country). Finding property along this vast expanse can be challenging, especially if you are interested in property in the state's most northern area. Most buyers, however, can concentrate their search in the Southern Maine, primarily in Cumberland and York Counties. Maine has 5,785 lakes, with many of them larger than 1 acre. They cover an area of 1,762 square miles! Nearly half of these are classified as "Great Ponds", meaning larger than 10 acres, a term that dates back to Maine's colonial days. When considering Maine Waterfront Real Estate, we encourage you to visit our website where you can view detailed waterfront maps, area profiles and access to waterfront property searches.
Specializing in the Portland metro area, we focus on residential real estate, primarily for those relocating to the area. Our website MaineHomeConnection, has been designed to assist people who are unfamiliar with the area get the information they need to make informed real estate decisions. We encourage you to visit and access its many features, especially our Relocation Services section. Additionally, to stay current with Maine' latest real estate trends and news, you might also want to visit our blog - MaineRealEstateNews.com - the area's leading online news resources.
Our affiliation with RE/MAX has been a long and successful one. Our team has been ranked among the top 4 in sales for the entire state of Maine (view Market Share reports) the last two years running and we have consistently achieved the RE/MAX Platinum award for sales success. We are also members of the RE/MAX Hall of Fame.
Special Online Features to Assist You:
Learn All About Local Maine Community Profiles
View a Short Video about Southern Maine and Greater Portland
Our approach to real estate is based on professionalism and commitment to our clients. We believe in straightforward explanations and creative marketing strategy. You can expect from us a combination of the latest in technology and uncompromising personal service. We specialize in a thorough understanding of the market - its trends, statistics and nuances that ultimately provides our clients with a competitive advantage. People put their trust in us and we take that responsibility very seriously.
When you are an informed buyer or seller, you'll make the best decisions for the most important purchase or sale in your lifetime. As team leaders, Laura & Michael set the standard for customer commitment and marketing innovation. Experienced in all aspects of real estate, negotiation and the local market, you can be confident that your best interests will be protected. Together they have developed home selling programs that are unique and are designed to provide clients with a Competitive Advantage.
Dear Laura & Michael,
Thank you so much for helping me sell my little house so I could buy the house of my dreams! You made the process easy by explaining everything I needed to do, helped me understand what was important, and found just the right buyers who love the house as much as I did! You worked around my crazy schedule and never pressured me to make uncomfortable choices! I have told all my friends what a wonderful job you did, and I would call you in a minute if I ever decide to sell this house.
What fun we had looking for the "house of my dreams"! You understood my specific needs, my time line, and helped me decide what was truly important in choosing my new home. You connected me to financiers financers, helped me navigate the paperwork, and most of all, encourage me to keep looking even when I was discouraged. I love my new home - it's perfect for me! Your resources helped me find exactly what I wanted at a price below my expectations! Thank you so much for your energy, support, and enthusiasm.
Janet Montgomery
Dear Laura,
When you became our realtor, I thought this would be a very impersonal, businesslike relationship. Over the past several months, we have come to regard you as a friend. You have been wonderful to us. And you've gone so far beyond what you needed to do. We are going to miss you.
When I first saw the RE/Max commercial on television where the realtor pushes the house over and adjusts the brick walk to line up, I thought, "That's Laura. She should be working for RE/MAX". then you went to work for RE?Max and it seems to be well suited to you. I think of your coming to paint my front door and spray for ants and all of the other things you have done. We really appreciate you.
This sale has not been one of those easy or quick solution transactions. Through it all you have been so kind and sweet to us and dealt with all sorts of problems and issues and found solutions o any number of problems. Through all of that you not only maintained an attitude of professionalism, but you made us feel like this was all routine for you (we know it wasn't) and you gave us a sense of being valued by you based on who we are as a family and not as just a house to sell or a commission to make.
We will be sorry to close if only for the reason that we will miss you. We wish you the best and want everyone to know that you are the greatest. You need o get the "Realtor of the Year" award for this house alone and for how nice you have been to us. We look forward to telling everyone we know to call you to list thier houses or to buy a house. Than you so much for the wonderful blessing you are.
Sincerely,
Irene Paulmann
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