2025 looks like another solid year for real estate

By Matt Trudel

I am feeling very optimistic about 2025 being a solid year for the Real Estate Market. Prices are holding steady for the most part and we are seeing a slight drop in interest rates, especially with some of the more common loan programs. Some of those programs are FHA, Rural Development, and your Maine Housing First Time Home Buyer programs. 

There are lots of new loan programs out there, so make sure you know what your options are. Hopefully you have an experienced team working with you if you are in the market to purchase a new home. That team should include a REALTOR® with plenty of experience in your area and hopefully years of negotiation strategy. Another important piece is having an experienced mortgage broker who not only knows the different programs available, but more important is being able to put you in the right program to save you as much as possible.

So, if you are thinking about buying a house in 2025, now is really a good time to purchase or should you wait until we get closer to springtime to make that purchase? That is a good question and not always an easy one to answer. Everyone is different and has different goals and motivational factors that need to be considered. Some people really don’t like their current living situation and want to move as soon as possible. Other people may not want to move in the middle of February in zero-degree weather, with ice and snow all around. There are those who also know almost exactly what they are looking for in a house that fits their specific needs.

All the above should probably be looking now and not wait until April to start looking. The reason for looking now is that you just don’t know when that property you are looking for will come on the market for sale. Even the person that doesn’t want to move in the winter should be looking. You can always negotiate out a 90-day closing so you are not moving in the cold and snow, problem solved.

Here is another tip for buyers that might help them when selecting a REALTOR® to be their buyer’s agent. We already know you should have a REALTOR® with a lot of experience and years of working as a real estate agent. When you sit down to talk with your prospective buyer’s agent, they should explain how they plan to be compensated for working for you, and more importantly how much they expect to be compensated.

How much they want to be compensated is where you might find some very big differences. I am not just talking about whether they want 2 percent, 2.5 percent, or 3 percent. Those differences are obvious. The real difference is when you are looking at homes, and the seller is offering out compensation to buyer agents that is greater than what you and your buyer agent agreed that they would work for.

As an example, you decide to hire my agency Five Star Realty to be your buyer’s agent. We both agree that I will work for 2 percent commission on the purchase and hopefully we can get the seller to pay that. We find your house, and the seller is offering out 3 percent commission to buyer agents. That extra 1 percent should go back to you the buyer in the form of a credit toward your closing cost or just a check directly to you. That 1 percent should not go to me or my agency because we agreed I would work for 2 percent, not 2 percent or however much more I can get. Not all real estate companies handle this the same way. I feel if we agreed to a price or percentage then that is what we should stick to.

Sellers should know that scenario very much applies to them as well. When it comes to listing your house for sale you are very much in the driver’s seat. There are vast differences now between agencies and their compensation policies. Sellers can decide how much the listing agency is going to be compensated.

This would generally be the percentage they are going to charge you for listing your home for sale. Then the seller can also decide if they want to offer out any compensation to other agencies who are representing a buyer who wants to purchase the home. That amount or percentage does not have to be the same as the listing percentage. They can also decide not to offer out any compensation. This all plays into the marketing of your home and there are a lot of factors to consider.

My point is to explain that there are a lot of options out there for both buyers and sellers, and you should know what those options are before making any decisions.

This article was written by Matt Trudel, Broker/Owner of Five Star Realty in Windham. For all your buying and selling needs, call him at 207-939-6971or email: matt@fivestarrealtymaine.com <