Home sales, prices rise in March

Wilmington-area home sales rose in March compared with a year earlier, the Wilmington Regional Association of Realtors reported Monday.

A total of 410 homes were sold in the area served by the WRAR – New Hanover and Pender counties and northern Brunswick County. That was up from 388 in March 2010.

The average price of homes whose deals closed in March was $242,883 last month, up from $219,887 a year earlier, the WRAR said.

The median price – the price where half of homes sold for more money and half for less – was $178,750 in March, up from $168,950 in March 2010.

The number of days it took to sell a home averaged 158 last month, up from 137 a year earlier.