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The median sales price for homes sold in April went up 3.2 percent higher than the month before, ticking up to $161,000, according to ""RE/MAX"":http://www.remax.com/.
[IMAGE]The real estate company released a national housing report that tracked a 5.9 percent increase in median sales prices year-over-year.
April also marked the third straight month that home prices went up year-over-year after close to two years of declines.
Of 53 metro areas surveyed by RE/MAX, 43 reported higher sales prices last month than the year before, an increase from 36 metro areas in March.
[COLUMN_BREAK]Prices went up by 25.4 percent in Detroit and Phoenix, 24 percent in Miami, 15 percent in Denver, and by a few percentage points less in Omaha and Tampa.
Home purchases budged only slightly. Closed transactions moved by only 0.1 percent month-over-month in April, although the same numbers signal a 4.1 percent boost year-over-year, marking the tenth straight month of increases.
Thirty-nine out of 53 metro areas saw increases year-over-year in closed transactions, a shift up from 33 metro areas in March. Milwaukee posted 38.4 percent in gains; Albuquerque, 30.2 percent; Nashville, 26.2 percent; Providence, 21.7 percent; Des Moines, 21.4 percent; and Chicago, 19.8 percent.
A home went for sale in April only after 96 days, five less than in March. Average inventory stayed the same at 5.3 but fell year-over-year from 7.1 in April last year.
""It's encouraging to see several improving economic and housing indicators, which are pointing to a continuing real estate recovery,"" ""Margaret Kelly"":http://www.remax.com/national-corp/biographies/margaret_kelly.aspx, CEO of RE/MAX, said in a statement. ""While home prices are still low and interest rates remain at historically low levels, it's likely that many more potential homebuyers will leave the sidelines and jump into this market.""
