Home prices statewide rose 5 percent in January, the Florida Realtors said Wednesday.

The median price for existing homes across Florida last month was $129,000, compared with $122,500 a year ago.

Although sales declined statewide, pending deals have increased in every month since May and the number of homes for sale statewide has fallen by 34 percent from a year earlier, according to Florida Realtors.

“We’re seeing positive signs of a strengthening recovery in Florida’s housing market,” Summer Greene, president of Florida Realtors, said in a statement. Greene also is a real estate manager in Fort Lauderdale.

Statistics for Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties were pending Wednesday afternoon.

Previously, the Florida Realtors trade group released monthly housing data for each of the state’s 19 metro areas, based on figures from the individual Realtor boards. Now that information will come directly from the boards in each of the counties.

Sun Sentinel