BANGOR, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- It's been a "buyer's market" -- but conditions are starting to improve for sellers in the housing market, too -- especially in the Greater Bangor area.
According to a report by Real Estate Activity Residential, home sales statewide have icreased 10.1% in the last six months.
The improvement is even more dramatic in the last 90 days, with home sales in Penobscot County increasing 13.1%, and 18.8% in the Greater Bangor area.
As more homes are being sold, the number of homes going up for sale is decreasing.
According to a report by Terradatum, the number of for sale properties is down 6%, and the number of sold properties is up 45% since February 2010.
These trends create a more stable market, according to Realtor Julie Dawson Williams of ERA Dawson Bradford in Bangor.
"For sellers, that means that the value that they may have lost in the past five to seven years...may start to come back," said Williams.
"In that sense, it should give people confidence about where our economy is going," she said.
In the worst of the recession, the housing market favored buyers: interest rates for loans were at historic lows, and the number of houses on the market were at historic highs.
The latest numbers show the market conditions moving to a place that is equally beneficial for buyers and sellers -- what Williams calls the "sweet spot."
She said the trend is just starting -- so it could be awhile until the housing market reaches that sweet spot -- but the trend is still promising.
"To see any sort of indication of positive numbers... I think we're right at the cusp of a recovery," said Williams.
NEWS CENTER