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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 11 F E B R UA R Y 7 , 2 0 2 2 Building efficiency. It's what we do. AAAENERGY.COM SERVING CLIENTS SINCE 1948 DESIGN/BUILD SERVICES COMMERCIAL REFRIGERATION BUILDING CONTROLS HVAC, PLUMBING & ELECTRICAL MAINTENANCE PLANS Contact us to learn about customized HVAC-R service plans for your facility. B R I E F P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F T H E C I T Y O F B E L FA S T V I A FA C E BO O K Among Maine places with hottest home sales, Belfast is tops B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r The city of Belfast charged to first place in an annual list of Maine municipalities with the year's hottest home sales. In 2021, Belfast recorded a 26% increase in the num- ber of homes sold. In addition, the median sale price soared from $245,000 to $300,000, the second-highest jump on the list, at 22.4%, according to Maine Real Estate Information Services Inc. and Maine Life Real Estate. Fueled by out-of-state buyers, bidding wars and site- unseen deals, homes were hot property last year. After Belfast, the Top 10 went like this: 2. Presque Isle made the list for the first time, with a 21.6% increase in the number of homes sold for 2021. The median price was unchanged at $120,000. 3. In Portland, 1,065 homes were sold in 2021, an increase of 20.6% over 2020. With the biggest increase in median sale price for all of the towns on this year's list, Portland saw a whopping 26.8% increase in 2021, leaping from $365,000 in 2020 to $463,000 in 2021. 4. Old Orchard Beach saw an increase of 16.8% in 2021. In 2020, the median sale price in Old Orchard Beach was $300,000 and in 2021, there was a 20.8% increase to $362,500. 5. Westbrook, which last made the list in 2016, last year saw a 15.2% increase in the number of homes sold and the median sale price jumped 17.2% from $290,000 to $340,000. Westbrook has seen growth in all aspects with the population jumping by 16.6% from 2010 to 2020, making it the fastest-growing city in Maine. 6. Lisbon saw a growth of 14.5% in the number of homes sold and a 12.4% increase in the median sale price from $213,500 to $240,00. 7. In Naples, home sales increased by 12.1% for 2021. The median sale price climbed from $265,000 to $300,000 — a nearly 17% increase. 8. Bangor, Maine's third-most populous city, made the list for the first time since 2016. Bangor saw an 11.2% increase in the number of homes sold and a median price increase of 16.6%, rising from $169,720 to $198,000. 9. Augusta had 290 units sold in 2021 for a 9.8% growth in sales. The median sale price increased 21.2%, going from $165,000 in 2020 to $200,000 in 2021. 10. Scarborough saw a gain of 7.4% of the total num- ber of homes sold for 2021 and a median sale price of $500,00 — a price increase of 8.7% from 2020. In Belfast, the number of homes sold rose by 26% in 2021.