Home Sales Jump In July

SOUTH PORTLAND (August 21, 2009) - For a second consecutive month, Maine’s home
sales are on the rise. According to the Maine Real Estate Information System, Inc. (MREIS),
1,154 single-family existing homes sold last month - up 11.82 percent from July 2008. The
median sales price (MSP) for those homes decreased 13.8 percent to $165,500, compared
with July 2008. The median sales price indicates that half of the homes were sold for more
and half sold for less.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports a five percent nationwide existing home
sales increase in July. The national MSP dropped 14.6 percent to $178,300. In the regional
Northeast, home sales rose 3.3 percent and the regional median MSP decreased 15 percent to
$236,700.
REALTOR® Jeff Wooster of Lynam Real Estate Agency in Bar Harbor says, “If you are
looking for the bottom of the Maine real estate market, you may have missed it. Existing
home sales are up again this month and inventory is declining. Buyers are back in the market
and real estate is climbing out.”