Home sales were up across Minnesota last month, and so were prices. That's according to a survey of real estate groups across the state by the Minnesota Association of Realtors, which showed a 7.5 percent increase compared with last year. The median sale price of those closed sales was $135,000, up 7.1 percent.

The report includes sales activity for the Twin Cities metro area, which were reported earlier this month, but also includes data for the state's biggest non-metro housing markets, including Duluth, Rochester and St. Cloud.

For several months sales have been up across the state, but the March report showed a healthy increase in sale prices for the first time since 2010. The report also shows dramatic differences in the pace of recovery in various sub-markets throughout the state. For example, in 10 of the 13 economic development regions that are tracked by the report, the number of sales had increased compared with last year. And prices were up in only eight of those regions.

Chris Galler, the Association's CEO, said that foreclosures are still a major drag on prices throughout the state, but that some traditional sellers are getting their price. And more. "Prices are of course still a big area for improvement," Galler said. "But when we take out distressed properties we're seeing significant increases in what homes are selling for."

Price declines were as deep as 31 percent in the Upper Minnesota Valley region, but price gains were as high as 25 percent in the West Central Region. The report tends to be vulnerable to statistical anomalies because the monthly sample size can be so small in some markets.