Mo. home sales down in first quarter

Missouri real estate agents sold 12,304 homes during the first quarter, a 9.1 percent decrease compared to 13,532 in the same period a year earlier.

For the three months ended March 31, the average selling price of homes in the Show-Me State was $146,457, a 6.7 percent increase over the first-quarter 2013 average of $137,207. Total sales during the first quarter reached $1.8 billion, a 4.2 percent decrease compared to a year earlier, according to a news release from the Missouri Association of Realtors.

During the first quarter, homes spent an average 136 days on the market, three days shorter than first-quarter 2013.

March home sales totaled 4,896, a 10.7 percent decrease from 5,485 in the same month of 2013. Last month, homes sold at an average of $149,063 - a 4.3 percent increase year-to-year - and sat on the market two less days - at 136 - compared to March 2013. The total sales volume in March was $735 million, according to the release.

According to the latest data released by real estate market tracking firm CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX), Springfield home prices rose 3.5 percent in February compared to the same month a year ago, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.