The near-freeze on Maine’s seasonally driven housing market has started to thaw, with real estate agents in Maine reporting more sales in April than in any other month this year, according to data released Monday by the Maine Association of Realtors.

But as the market heats back up, prices have also started to rise.

Here are four takeaways from the April home sales report.

1. Spring market in swing

Maine’s housing market got off to a slow start in 2026, with few homes changing hands.

January, February and March historically are the slowest months for the seasonal housing market. February marked the first time since 2019 that agents sold fewer than 700 homes.

But things started to turn around in April.

According to the report, agents sold 983 homes last month, a roughly 3% increase over April 2025 and a 15% increase from the month before.

“Maine’s spring real estate market has kicked off,” said Judy Oberg, president of the Maine Association of Realtors.

The state is entering the busy season for prospective buyers and sellers, with an 18% increase in for-sale inventory in the last month, said Oberg, who is also an associate broker at the Oberg Insurance and Real Estate Agency in Bridgton.

There were almost 3,900 homes for sale across the state in April.

2. Prices again top $400,000

After a five-month reprieve, the median sale price has once again surpassed $400,000, hitting $410,865 last month, according to the report. The median means that half the homes sold for more while half sold for less.

Prices had been below $400,000 since November, when the median price hit $399,000, just one month after setting a record of $426,000.

They stayed that way until last month.

April’s median was 2.7% above April 2025, which, according to Paul McKee, a Portland-based agent with Keller Williams, is a good thing.

“That’s very sustainable,” he said, adding that anything above 4% is not.

McKee was reluctant to make any claims after one month.

“(But) these are good numbers,” he said. “It’s not ‘bragging numbers,’ but … it’s steady.”

Maine also performed better than the rest of the Northeast. According to the National Association of Realtors, year-over-year prices in the nine-state region increased almost 5% to a median of $510,800 last month.

3. Inconsistent statewide

While things are trending in the right direction with more inventory overall, Oberg said the numbers are inconsistent across the state.

The association also looks at county-by-county data on a three-month rolling basis to get a more comprehensive view of the market.

Sales and prices were up and down all over the state.

Only four counties recorded price decreases in the rolling quarter between Feb. 1 and April 30. Sagadahoc County saw an 11% decrease compared to the same span the year before, marking the steepest drop in the state.

Lincoln County, on the other hand, saw prices increase about 11%, more than any other county.

Cumberland County remained the most expensive of Maine’s 16 counties, with a median of $590,000, while Aroostook County’s $150,000 had the only median below $200,000.

The number of sales also swung between extremes. Franklin County real estate agents sold 76 homes between February and April, a 30% increase from the same period last year and the largest increase in the state. Meanwhile, the number of homes sold in Waldo County dropped roughly 19%, from 99 to 80, the sharpest decline in the state.

4. Second home sales up nationally

Nationally, the number of sales slipped just 0.3% compared to April 2025, according to the National Association of Realtors, while the sales price inched upward by about 1% to a median of $422,300.

A slightly larger chunk of that — about 16% compared to 15% the year before — was from second homes.

This, according to Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the national association, shows “stronger finances among higher-income households, as well as the post-COVID rise in remote work and hybrid job schedules.”

But there were still positive signs for middle-income households, like lower mortgage rates and income growth outpacing home price gains, Yun said.

However, inventory is still tight, so desirable homes are still receiving multiple offers, he added.

McKee, in Portland, said lack of inventory has been a consistent issue, and will continue to be as long as building costs and not-in-my-backyard, or NIMBY, sentiment remain high.

“We’ve been suffering for the last 3 1/2 years doing 1995 numbers nationwide when we have 73 million more people living in America,” he said. “We should be busier.”