Twin Cities home prices rise again in April

Selling prices for Twin Cities homes rose for the fourth consecutive month in April, driven by a drop in the sale of homes in foreclosure, which tend to sell cheap.

The median sales price for homes in the 13-county metropolitan area was nearly $170,000 last month. That was up 11 percent from the April 2009 median selling price of $153,000.

Pat Paulson, president-elect of the Minneapolis Association of Realtors, says the price rise reflects decreasing sales of homes in foreclosure.

"Those sales are down and traditional sales are up," he said. "So, it's that mixture that's causing the median price increases."

Paulson says the federal tax credit for homebuyers certainly helped spur recent home sales. With the credit now gone, he expects sales will drop in coming months. But he says home sales typically slow down in the summer.