Sales of existing single-family homes in Maine shot up 11 percent in 2015 from the previous year, while the median sale price rose 3.1 percent, according to a report issued Friday.
The Maine Association of Realtors report said 15,672 homes were sold in Maine throughout the year at a median price of $180,500. The median indicates that half of the homes were sold for more and half sold for less.
The uptick in sales, which mirrored regional and national trends, was likely the result of continued low interest rates and increased confidence in the economy, said Ed Gardner, the association’s president, in a news release. Nationally, sales were up 7.7 percent for the year.
“Overall the data shows a confidence in the stability of the market and buyers are making sound investments in residential real estate,” said Gardner, broker and owner of Ocean Gate Realty LLC in Portland.
Maine existing home sales in December were up 15.6 percent from a year earlier, but the median sale price fell by 2.2 percent to $177,750, the report said.
Nationally, sales across the country were up 7.1 percent in December compared with a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors, and the median sale price rose 8 percent to $226,000.
In the regional Northeast, sales were up 11.9 percent and the median increased 5.3 percent to $255,700, it said.
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