The amount of homes sold in the Wilmington area increased by nearly 20 percent in April compared to the same month last year, according to the latest statistics from local Realtors.

"Real estate continues to be a solid investment in our area," said Don Harris, president of the Wilmington Regional Association of Realtors, in a news release on the April numbers released this week. "Mortgage interest rates continue to remain at historic lows, so now is the time to get off the fence and participate in one of the greatest freedoms we have - private property ownership."

The median sales price of homes increased slightly, from $201,500 in April 2015 to $210,000 last month, while the average price showed a small decline, from about $249,000 to about $239,000, the WRAR's numbers show.

"In a month-to-month view, we are seeing a slight increase (6.63%) in units sold from 724 in March 2016 to 772 in April 2016. The Days on Market continued to drop as well from 107 in March 2016 to 94 days in April," the release said.

The last time the number of units sold jumped past 700 during the month of April was in 2005, when 774 houses were purchased, according to WRAR records.
 

April home sales in the Wilmington area

Units sold	Avg. sales price	Median sales price	Total dollars	Days on market	New listings
2015: 644	$249,138	$201,500	$160,444,841	121	1161
2016: 722	$238,723	$210,000	$184,294,458	94	990
19.88%	-4.18%	4.22%	14.86%	-22.31%	-14.73%