PORTSMOUTH—With the most August listings (125) in two years, sales of homes priced at $1 million dollars or more set an August record in the 13 Sample Seacoast Towns, according to statistics just released by the Seacoast Board of Realtors.

The 13 Sample Seacoast Towns are Exeter, Greenland, Hampton, Hampton Falls, New Castle, Newfields, Newington, North Hampton, Newmarket, Portsmouth, Rye, Seabrook, and Stratham.

To be sure, listings declined 6% from last month, but sales continued apace up 6.25% and 39.3% from last year. For only the second time on record there were no sales less than $400,000. The monthly median sales price was $830,000, up 4.4% from last year, but well off the year’s all-time high of $922,500 set in June.

The three biggest single-family sales for the month came in Rye with the first being 36 Straw’s Point Road at $8,500,000 and the others on 2 Libbey La. ($2,850,000) and 2 Marden Woods Drive ($2,435,000.) The Straws Point transaction is the third highest sale ever in Rye with the top two sales also coming on Straws Point.

There were 121 active condominium listings in August, the most since October 2023. The 47 sales were down 22.9% from last year and the median price of $535,000 is down 6.1% from 2023.

The three biggest condominium sales were all in Portsmouth with the highest coming at 1163 Sagamore Avenue at $1,825,000. The other two were at 230 and 207 Sage Lane closing for $1,510,465 and $1,483,317, respectively. All three sold for more than the list price.

Both market segments are now up for the year. The single-family market is up 7% with an eight-month median of $829,000 up 12% from 2023. Condominium transactions are up 6.6% at a median $599,000 up 9.9% from last year.

“Increased inventory is becoming an important factor in our market,” said Lynn Lagasse, president of the Seacoast Board of Realtors. “I think everyone is anticipating the potential mortgage rate cut and how that might lead to an active fall market.”