Home Prices Bucking National Trend

Home prices spiked up 17 percent in Lee County in September compared to a year earlier, even as the flood of distressed sales ebbed.

The median price of an existing single-family home sold in Lee County in September jumped to $110,600, according to statistics released Thursday by Florida Realtors.

There were 1,127 single-family homes sold in September, up 2 percent from 1,102 a year earlier, said the group’s report, which counts sales completed with the assistance of a Realtor.

The Naples Area Board of Realtors provides its data to the Florida Realtors, but doesn’t allow them to be publicly available. A separate release issued by the board said the median price in September was $169,000, up from $161,000 a year earlier. There were 491 sales in September, compared to 513 in September 2010.

In another report also released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors, the number of Americans who bought previously occupied homes fell in September. Home sales are on pace to match last year’s dismal figures — the worst in 13 years.