PORTLAND, Maine — Home sales in Maine continued to heat up in January, with sales volumes and prices both on the rise compared with last year.

The Maine Association of Realtors reported single-family home sales rose by 13.5 percent, to 889 homes sold, with a 9.7 percent jump in the median price, to $175,500.

The latest figures continue a series of strong year-over-year rises in home sales activity in January during the economic recovery.

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Ed Gardner, president of the Maine Association of Realtors, said in a news release that real estate agents are still facing “historically low inventory in some markets” and little inventory for buyers who are looking to “trade-up” to a bigger or different home.

The figures for January come after home sales rose about 10 percent statewide in 2015, with a 3 percent jump in prices.

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The changes in Maine outpaced the national rate of home sales growth and price changes, at 11.2 percent and 8.3 percent, respectively. The national median home sale price was $215,000 in January, compared with $175,500 in Maine.

In the Northeast, the sales volume rose 20.6 percent with prices up almost 1 percent, to $247,500.

Darren Fishell

Darren is a Portland-based reporter for the Bangor Daily News writing about the Maine economy and business. He's interested in putting economic data in context and finding the stories behind the numbers.