Single-family homes sales in Maine far outpaced a national drop in sales volume in December, growing 11.5% over the same month last year.
Maine Listings reported that 990 homes were sold in December 2013, compared with 888 in December 2012. The latest figures closed out a year of strong growth in single-family housing activity. For the full year, sales volume was 13.6% higher than in 2012 and the median sales price increased nearly 3% to $175,000.
Nationally, sales of existing single-family homes declined 0.7% in December. For the Northeast, sales rose 3.2% in December and the median sales price rose 3.6% to $239,000.
Angelia Levesque, president of the Maine Association of Realtors, said in a statement that low interest rates drove sales at the beginning of 2013 and entry of first-time home buyers continues to drive activity into 2014.