CHAMPAIGN — Statewide statistics from the Illinois Association of Realtors show Illinois home sales for the first quarter were down 11.2 percent from the same period last year.

The median home sale price statewide was $131,175 — down 8.9 percent from $144,000 in the first quarter of 2010.

The median price is the point at which half the homes sold for more and half the homes sold for less.

Forty-six of the 99 Illinois counties that reported figures showed either a year-over-year increase in the median home price or no change at all.

Champaign County's median price during the first quarter was $134,000, up 3 percent from a year ago. In Vermilion County, the median price was $55,000, up 25.9 percent.

Other area counties showing increases in median price were Coles, Douglas, Edgar, Iroquois, Macon, Piatt and Vermilion. Those showing decreases were DeWitt, Ford, McLean and Moultrie.

The survey of median prices showed McLean and Champaign had the priciest housing markets in East Central Illinois.

During the first quarter, McLean had a median sales price of $149,000 and an average sales price of $174,000, while Champaign had a median sales price of $134,000 and an average sales price of $149,000.

Piatt County also had strong sales prices, with a first-quarter median price of $100,000 and a first-quarter average price of $134,000.

The next priciest tier included Coles, Douglas and Macon, with medians close to $80,000 and averages close to $100,000.

DeWitt and Edgar were in the following tier, with medians in the $60,000 to $70,000 range and averages near $80,000.

Ford, Iroquois, Moultrie and Vermilion counties tended to be the most affordable counties, with first-quarter median sales prices in the $50,000s and the average sales prices around $60,000.