Sales of existing single-family homes in Maine increased by double digits in November, putting them on pace to break last year’s all-time high record.

Real estate agents across the state sold 1,576 homes in November, an increase of 11.5 percent from a year earlier, according to a report issued Wednesday by Maine Listings. The median sale price for those homes rose 4.2 percent to $200,000 from November 2016. The median indicates that half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less.

“Through November, the number of home sales statewide in 2017 has exceeded the best-ever 2016 by 0.6 percent,” said Greg Gosselin, broker and owner of Gosselin Realty Group in York and president of the Maine Association of Realtors. “We’re hoping that strong sales activity in December will push 2017 to claim the number one all-time ranking.”

Nationally, home sales increased by 3.2 percent in November compared with a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors. The national median sale price was up 5.4 percent from November 2016 to $248,800. Regionally, sales in the Northeast were up 6.7 percent and the median price rose 4 percent to $273,600.

Home prices jumped more than 24 percent in Piscataquis County in a comparison of quarterly sales. From Sept. 1 through Nov. 30, the median home sale price rose to $123,724 from $99,000 in the same quarter in 2016. Knox County had the greatest quarterly drop, from $222,250 to $202,500.

J. Craig Anderson can be contacted at 791-6390 or at:

canderson@pressherald.com

Twitter: @jcraiganderson


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