Housing news a mixed report

SARASOTA — The Sarasota-Bradenton housing market continued its slow climb from the potential bottom last month, according to the latest reports from Florida Realtors.

The data, however, is a mix of good news and bad news. On one side, total home sales dropped by 8.9%, from 1,068 sales in June 2010 to 973 last month. The drop could be partially attributed to a federal tax break incentive that expired last summer.

But while year-over-year sales decreased, the median sales price for the region increased on a monthly basis. The median sales price in June was $162,000, up slightly from May and up 16% from January, when it hit an annual low of $136,000.