Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) -  Strong demand combined with a limited supply pushed home prices higher across the region last month.

The latest statistics supplied by the Southeastern Minnesota Association of Realtors show the median sales price of existing homes in April was just under $180,000, which is up 8.7-percent when compared to the same month a year ago. Since the beginning of the year, the median sales price in southeastern Minnesota has climbed nearly 12-percent.

There were only 406 closings on sales of existing homes regionwide last month. That’s down over 23-percent from a year ago and much of the decline is due to a continued shortage of homes for sale. The association says there were only about 1,300 homes on the market in April, compared to nearly 1,700 last April.

In Rochester, there has been a modest uptick in existing home sales through the first four months of the year. At the end of last month, the number of closings totaled 563, which is up about 3-percent when compared to the June through April period last year.

The median sales price in Rochester has shot up over 18-percent this year to just under $215,000 with fewer homes available to meet the demand. There were just 328 homes for sale in the city last month, compared to 351 in April 2016.

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