The median sale price for existing, single-family homes in Maine has stabilized over the past few months after a long period of decline, according to a report issued Monday by the Maine Association of Realtors.

The median price for homes sold statewide in December, January and February was $170,000, up 1.5 percent from the same three-month period of 2014, the association reported. It was the second month in a row that the median price was up slightly over the same rolling quarter of 2014. The median price indicates that half of the homes were sold for more and half sold for less.

The previous three-month period in which the median home price had increased from the prior year was January, February and March of 2014, according to the association.

Realtors in Maine sold 732 single-family homes in February, an increase of 13.3 percent from February 2014, the association said. However, a separate report issued in mid-March by RE/Max Integra New England that also included condominium sales said total sale transactions in Maine were down 1.2 percent in February.

The median sale price for detached, single-family homes in the state increased 4.6 percent to $167,400 in February, the Realtors association reported. That increase, combined with the double-digit jump in single-family home sales, is indicative of a strengthening market, said Marie Flaherty, association president and a Realtor with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Northeast Real Estate in Westbrook.

“It’s a perfect environment for sellers,” she said. “Buyers have gone well above the list price to secure a good property.”

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Flaherty cited pent-up demand, relatively low supply and nearly historic low interest rates as contributors to the home-sale market’s stabilization.

“It’s steady. It’s not out of control, which is healthy,” she said.

Nationally, single-family existing home sales rose 5.9 percent in February. The National Association of Realtors reported a nationwide price increase of 8.2 percent to a median sale price of $204,200. The Northeast experienced a 3.6 percent rise in sales, while prices jumped 3.3 percent to $241,800, it said.

Homebuyers in Maine should see the inventory of available homes begin to increase as the weather improves, Flaherty said. She predicted that the market will continue improving at a slow and steady pace.

“The slight increase in pricing … is a reflection of market stability,” she said. “It is important to note that this is an indication of how cautious buyers have been, compared to past recovering markets.”


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