Home sales rise 2%, but prices drop

Home sales ticked up 2% in January over the same month last year, while the median price slid by nearly the same amount.
According to the Maine Real Estate Information System Inc., a total of 547 single-family homes were sold last month, a 2.05% rise over January 2011 and the seventh consecutive month of increases. The median sales price, however, fell 1.88% to $157,000.
Nationally, home sales rose 2.3%, whil ...