CHAMPAIGN — Champaign County home sales rose slightly in April, but a drop in the average selling price dented overall sales volume.

The average selling price in April was $121,680, down 17 percent from $146,756 a year ago, according to the Champaign County Association of Realtors' Multiple Listing Service.

"Today we're seeing a lot slower movement in the upper price" range, said Max Mitchell, the association's president.

Prices have also been damped by the number of foreclosed properties on the market, he said.

Mitchell said a condominium at Capstone Quarters in Urbana originally sold for $130,000, but after it was foreclosed on, it was picked up by an investor for a little more than $70,000.

Another foreclosed property — on Bloomington Road in Champaign — recently sold for $45,000, he said.

"Two or three years ago, I don't think I would have handled any of those properties" in that price range, Mitchell said.

The soft market has affected prices at the top end too. A house in Champaign's Lincolnshire Fields subdivision sold for $650,000 in 1995 and is now on the market for $550,000, he said.

"There are a few move-up buyers, but I think people are being extremely cautious," Mitchell said. "They're selling their houses for a little less, but they're also buying more expensive properties for a little bit less."

Despite the weak market, activity was up a little in April.

Figures show 189 home sales were closed in April, up from 171 in March — but down from 239 in April 2010. The year-ago figure was boosted by the tax credit for first-time home buyers in effect at that time.

As a result of the lower average selling price, April sales amounted to just under $23 million, up only slightly from $22.5 million in March — and 34 percent below the $35 million in sales recorded in April 2010.

So far this year, the number of home sales in Champaign County is running 5.4 percent behind this time last year.

From January through April, 582 home sales closed, compared with 615 sales closed in the first four months of 2010.

In terms of dollar volume, sales are running nearly 11 percent behind the first four months of 2010. The Multiple Listing Service shows $75.3 million in sales this year, compared with $84.6 million for the same period in 2010.

Of the 189 home sales in April:

• — 15 sold for $250,000 or more.
• — 18 sold for between $200,000 and $250,000.
• — 75 sold for between $100,000 and $200,000.
• — 32 sold for between $50,000 and $100,000.
• — 49 sold for less than $50,000.

Some buyers at the lower end were investors picking up "bargains," many of them foreclosures.

"It's good that investors are getting into the marketplace," Mitchell said. "But unfortunately, some prospective buyers may ultimately be renters for the long term because most properties in their price range are owned by investors."

Mitchell, who was in Washington this week for a National Association of Realtors legislative conference, planned to meet with staff from U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson's office Wednesday.

Mitchell said he intended to encourage Johnson to increase access to mortgages, preserve the deductibility of interest on mortgages and help short sales proceed more quickly.

He said he particularly wants to see increased availability of Federal Housing Administration mortgages, which offer down payments as low as 3.5 percent.

Most conventional mortgages require 20 percent down payments, and Mitchell said "it takes the average family 14 years to save up enough for a 20 percent down payment."