December 22, 2012 2:00 AM
SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — Double-digit gains in real estate home sales remain the trend across the state of Maine.
According to statistics released by the Maine Real Estate Information System, Realtors sold 1,058 single-family existing homes in November 2012 — a jump of 23.6 percent compared to a year ago. The median sales price for those homes increased 1.9 percent to $172,250.
York County lagged behind the state overall in terms of the percentage growth in sales and median prices compared to November 2011. The county saw 510 home sales in November, up 6.9 percent from a year earlier and a median sales price of $221,500, up .68 percent from November 2011.
By comparison, Cumberland County, Maine’s largest county, saw 826 sales in November, up 28.5 percent from a year earlier. The median sales price of those homes was $232,700, up 4.8 percent from November 2011.
Sales nationwide are up 12.4 percent, according to the National Association of Realtors. The national median sales price rose 10.1 percent to $180,600 last month. In the regional Northeast, sales increased 14.8 percent, while the regional median sales price dipped 2 percent to $232,900.
“The market is heading in a very positive direction,” said Tina Lucas of Lucas Real Estate in Portland and president of the Maine Association of Realtors. “However, sellers need to be careful when pricing property, as it remains a buyers’ market.”
Lucas added there is more balance in the market and advised that when buyers find a well-maintained home that is properly priced for the current market, they should expect the possibility of a multiple offers.
“Although the market remains tilted in the buyers’ favor, it is beginning to stabilize toward a more balanced environment where both buyers and sellers have more equal weight in the negotiation process,” she said.
Courtesy of Seacoastonline.com
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