SOUTH PORTLAND (AP) – Sales of existing homes fell 28 percent in Maine in January from a year earlier, the Maine Association of Realtors reported Monday.

Realtors sold 495 single-family homes during the month, down from 688 in January 2007, the association said. The median sales price fell only slightly – dipping by 2.2 percent to $185,000.

Nationwide, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday that sales of existing homes fell 22 percent in January from a year earlier. The median sales price fell 5 percent to $198,700.

For the three-month period from November through January, existing home sales in Maine were down nearly 20 percent from the same period a year earlier, while the median sales price was down about 2.3 percent.

Sales in those three months fell 25.6 percent in Cumberland County, 18 percent in York County and 7.2 percent in Penobscot County, the association said. Those three counties have the highest number of home sales in Maine.

AP-ES-02-25-08 1850EST