The number of houses actively listed for sale continued to fall last month in the Fredericksburg area, according to January housing data released Friday.

Active listings dropped to 1,363 in the region at the end of January, down almost 26 percent from a year ago, according to data from Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc.

That was the lowest number of homes actively listed in the Fredericksburg market--the city and Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford counties--since June 2005.

The low levels are likely due to a combination of homeowners being unwilling or unable to sell their homes at current prices, and a lack of new construction.

The median price of the 253 homes that sold in the region last month through the Multiple Listing Service was $184,900. That's about flat from January 2011 but was down 14 percent from the month before.

Home sales were up about 7 percent from January 2011. There was about a 5.4-month supply of homes on the market at the end of January, which is generally considered a healthy supply-demand balance.

There was just a four-month supply of homes at the end of January in Stafford, where median prices rose about 5 percent year over year. About 40 percent of the area's home sales last month were in Stafford.

The relative strength in the Stafford market is leading to growth in new home construction, particularly in the Garrisonville and Courthouse road corridors.

Regionwide, foreclosures made up about 32 percent of sales, and government-backed financing was used to close about 52 percent of total purchases. Homes spent about 81 days on the market before selling.

The higher-end home market continued to struggle last month. There was just one sale for more than $600,000, and none for more than $800,000.

Bill Freehling: 540/374-5405
Email: bfreehling@freelancestar.com