MREIS PRESS RELEASE:  In a press release to the media today, MREIS reports sales of single-family existing homes in Maine were down over 13% in October.  Statistically, 897 homes sold last month, compared to 1,041 homes sold in October 2007.  The statewide median sales price decreased 9.28% to $171,000. The median sales price indicates that half of the homes were sold for more and half sold for less.  Nationwide, sales of single-family existing homes remained unchanged from one year ago.  NAR reported a national median sales price of $181,800 in October, a drop of 11.2 percent. In the regional Northeast, home sales dipped 9.8% last month.  The regional median sales price also decreased 9.8% to $241,700.

MREIS PRESS RELEASE:  In a press release to the media today, MREIS reports 928 homes were sold statewide in September 2008 statewide compared to September 2007’s statistic of 1,028 homes, a decrease of dipped 9.73 percent.  Maine’s median sales price for a single-family existing home is $177,750 in September 2008, down 6.45% from one year ago. The median sales price indicates that half of the homes were sold for more and half sold for less.  Nationwide, NAR reports single-family existing home sales were up 3.8% in September compared with the prior year; and the national median sales price of $190,600 represents an 8.6% decline. Regionally, sales in the Northeast are 7.7% lower than a year ago.  The regional median sales price was $246,800 - a decrease of 5.4 percent.