SOUTH PORTLAND -- Home sales in the state were down 17.2 percent in July compared to the same month a year earlier, and the median sales price fell 3.5 percent, according to the Maine Real Estate Information System, Inc.

Last month, 1,032 existing family homes were sold, compared with 1,247 for the same time last year. The median sales price was down to $192,000.

Sales slowed more dramatically in Maine than in the nation and the region. The median sales price, however, did not drop as much.

According to the National Association of Realtors, sales nationally were down 12.4 percent. The national median sales price fell 7.7 percent to $210,900.

For the Northeast, sales were down 11.8 percent and the median sales price was down 4.9 percent to $278,700.