A bright spot in the local real estate market got a bit bigger and brighter: Durango homes saw an uptick in price and volume. This continues an upward trend in prices and number of units sold since the local market fell in 2009.

“We’re continuing to see an improvement in the number of sales, although this is still a buyer’s market,” said Heather Erb, president of the Durango Area Association of Realtors. “La Plata County has already hit the bottom and moved on. There are fluctuations in prices between the types of properties, like condos and in-town homes.”

The association on Friday released its statistics for La Plata County’s housing market for the second quarter of 2011.

Countywide, home prices rose 2.58 percent, although some types of housing fared better than others.

Durango’s in-town homes enjoyed a 32 percent bounce in sales over the same quarter in 2010, when 53 homes sold, compared with the 70 that sold this year. The median price of Durango homes rose 9 percent, from $335,000 in second quarter 2010, to $365,364.

Condos and townhome sales, however, fell 25 percent from 2010. The median price for a Durango condo dropped to $242,450 from last year’s second quarter median of $267,500.

The median price of a country home fell by $50,500 from last year. Despite the price drop, it was harder to sell these homes.

Interestingly, Durango’s country homes rose in median value between 2009 and 2010 by $15,500.

“You have to keep in mind that the first-time home buyer’s credit had some impact last year,” Erb said. “That makes what improvements in sales there were this year even more impressive.”

Trends were tougher for Bayfield with in-town home prices falling from last year and the number of homes sold decreasing. Bayfield’s in-town median home price fell by $24,000, to $215,000. Only eight in-town Bayfield homes were sold in 2011 compared with last year’s 17. Bayfield country homes fell by $13,950 in median value. But there was some good news hidden in the latter statistic with 19 more country homes sold this year.

Resort condos fell in median value by a dramatic $83,000, from $323,000 in last year’s second quarter to $240,000 this year. Five more resort condos were sold, however, when comparing 2011 to last year’s quarterly sales.

In the first six months of 2011, there was a net increase of eight transactions compared to the same time last year.

There are 1,291 homes for sale in La Plata County, according to the association.

ledwards@durangoherald.com