BY CASEY MURPHY

cmurphy@tylerpaper.com

Home sales in the Tyler area for February jumped 7.45 percent from the same time a year ago.

Jason Gregory, president of the Greater Tyler Association of Realtors, believes last month’s home sales were a carryover from last year.

“We were busy and still are,” he said.

There were 244 homes sold last month, compared to 227 in February 2013, according to figures released Tuesday by the Greater Tyler Association of Realtors.

Last month was a 2.5 percent increase from the 238 homes sold in January.

Interest rates remain good and the job market is good, Gregory said.

“And if ‘Old Man Winter’ will ever go away, and we get a steady dose of springtime, I’m hoping it will help keep the pace going,” he said.

Home prices remain steady.

The median home price in February was $145,450, a slight increase of 0.31 percent from the $145,000 median price seen here a year ago, and an 11.89 percent increase from the median price of $130,000 in January.

Gregory said home inventory was down from last year, which is good.

“That means things are selling,” he said.

Home inventory is how long, based on the past year’s sales rate, it would take to clear out existing inventory, with no more homes introduced into the market.

The home inventory for Tyler was 9 months in January, up from 8.7 months in December, according to the latest figures available from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.