A new report from the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors show median sales price rose 10.7 percent to $179,500 in the 13-county Twin Cities metro. Closed sales also grew 13.8 percent last month.

September was another good month for home sellers in the 13-county Minneapolis-St. Paul metro. The Business Journal says pending sales grew 11 percent last month, compared to the same month a year ago, according to the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors. The median home sales price also increased 12.3 percent to $174,000 in the Twin Cities area, Finance & Commerce reports. However, the number of homes for sale dropped 29.4 percent -- the lowest level in nearly a decade.

Realtors report the number of pending sales last month was up more than one-third compared to a year earlier. And while prices dropped another 1.4 percent, that's the smallest decline in more than a year.

The number of Minnesota homes sold increased in November. According to the Minnesota Association of Realtors, housing sales were up 11.2 percent compared to a year ago. However, home prices remain low. The report blames foreclosures for keeping values down, but credits bargin prices and low interest rates for the improved sales.

Even amid a slow crawl out of the recession, waterfront and luxury homes sales in Minnesota are selling well. On Sunday, realtors are hosting a special open house tour of 127 homes for sale on 43 different Minnesota bodies of water.

The number of closed sales last month rose 7.1 percent compared with last year, while the median price of those deals jumped 12.4 percent to $163,000.

U.S. Home prices rose in June in all of the 20 cities tracked, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index. Minneapolis recorded one of the biggest one-month gains -- up 4.8 percent from May and 5.7 percent from June 2011.