The trade group said the drop in home prices showed that buyers who stayed in the market bought lower-priced homes.

She said these relatively lower-priced homes often needed updating and were usually on half an acre or less.

The Mayor noted that many lower-priced homes are interspersed among larger, more expensive dwellings.

Such problems helped to kill off construction of lower-priced homes; for nearly a decade, virtually no home for less than $100,000 has been built.

The recovery appears strongest for lower-priced homes, and some experts say that it may be short-lived.

To further lower the differential, the seller must focus on ways to increase the cost of the lower-priced home.

"In fact we're running out of inventory in lower-priced homes."

But in the market for lower-priced homes, the increase is noticeable.

Many subdivisions consist of lower-priced homes aimed at new buyers.

When a new home is built, it typically frees up an older, lower-priced home that is also put on the market.