Although listings for homes were up from last year in August, the median sale price and year-to-date listings are down from last year — though not by much.

There were seven more listings in August 2011 compared to August 2010, according to a release by the Southeast Minnesota Association of Realtors (SEMAR). However, houses were selling for a median price of $87,000 last August, with that number only reaching $72,000 in 2011 — a 17 percent drop.

Duane Sauke, SEMAR MLS President, said the market is steady lately, with tension mostly between what sellers expect to get for their home versus what buyers want to pay.

“Across Southeast Minnesota, each of the markets have established a stable number of sales per month for the last 12 month period,” Sauke said in a news release. “Austin and Albert Lea markets … still indicate a tension between the expectation of the sellers and the reality of a sale.”

Homes are spending more time on the market compared to 2010, too. In August 2010, a home’s average amount of time on the market was 84 days, compared to 121 days in 2011.

“Continued consumer financial reluctance and that effect of a majority of homeowners being out of the buying cycle have reduced the number of buyers that enter the market,” Sauke said.