At the same time, the median sales price for the 15,672 homes sold in 2015 was $180,500, a 3.14 percent increase from 2014, according to the group.

For December 2015, sales nationally were 7.1 percent higher compared to the same month in 2014. The National Association of Realtors also reported that last month’s national median sales price of $226,000 reflected an 8 percent increase over December 2014’s figure.

In Maine, December 2015 sales were up 15.56 percent over sales in 2014, while the median sales price declined by 2.23 percent to $177,750.