Residential real estate sales by members of the Lexington-Bluegrass Association of Realtors (LBAR) reported 400 sales totaling more than $60 million in January 2012.

The real estate market in central Kentucky was very active in the first month of the year, with a 22 percent increase in total activity over January 2011. Residential sales increased 25 percent to 384 sales closed compared to 306 sales closed last year. The median sales price remained stable at $127,500 for the same time period. Days on market dropped 29 percent in January, falling from 143 to 101 days.

Pending sales increased a dramatic 22 percent for the month. There were 556 pending sales reported in January 2012 compared to 456 in January 2011. Another positive indicator for the start of the year is a slowly declining inventory. The total supply of houses on the market (5,611) is 6 percent less than in January 2011 when there were 5,975.

Townhouse and condo sales saw a decline in January but an increase in median price. Sales decreased 27 percent from 22 sales reported closed in January 2011 to 16 in January 2012. The median sales price increased 15 percent for the same time period from $112,750 to $130,000. Average days on market declined by 43 percent, dropping from 159 days in January 2011 to 90 days in January 2012.