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Buyer demand for Maine’s real estate is strong and for-sale home inventory is historically low. According to Maine Listings, the median sales price (MSP) for a single-family existing home in Maine rose 15.57% to $255,300 and sales volume jumped 18.38% comparing January 2021 to January 2020.  Coming off 2020, the best year ever for sales volume, we are struggling with historically low for-sale inventory statewide. Buyers are facing far fewer available home choices and sellers are reluctant to list their properties without their next move-in property in place. Buyer demand is strong, and a continuing positive trajectory for 2021 is dependent on homes for sale coming onto the market.  The National Association of Realtors reported a 23% rise in sales of single-family existing homes across Cumberland Country comparing January 2021 to January 2020.  Home prices jumped 14.8% percent over January 2020, reaching a national MSP of $308,300 in January 2021.  This high demand, low supply

The COVID pandemic hasn’t stopped people from buying houses. But it has changed how buyers view  homes, with technology sometimes replacing the in-person experience. To help keep everyone safer and comply with state and local guidance, agents are using virtual home showings, virtual home tours, and virtual staging instead of or along with open houses, in-person showings, and traditional staging. That means you can buy a home without setting foot inside it. But it also means you need to understand what you are seeing – and not seeing. And you need to know what questions to ask.   Here’s a look at the virtual options and some of the pluses and minuses of each:  Virtual 3D Home Tours — Good for a First Look With a virtual home tour, a seller’s agent looks to show off a property’s best features. This marketing presentation is what potential buyers see online at a real estate site. It may be a 3D tour or a gallery of retouched photos of staged rooms. Regardless of the format, it shows the p