A new home is under construction in the Meadow Ridge housing plan in Connoquenessing Township. RealSTATS of Pittsburgh said 200 homes sold in the county in December.

Home prices and sales in December remained steady in Butler County.

According to RealSTATS of Pittsburgh, which analyzes real estate market trends, 200 homes sold in December in the county.

The average home sale price in the county was $237,000, which is much higher than the average price of $167,000 for the region of Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Washington and Westmoreland counties.

Another real estate reporting group, West Penn Multi-List, also based in Pittsburgh, said in its 2012 year-end report that the average number of days for a home to be on the market dropped to 71 last year, down from 97 days in 2011.

Ten percent more homes were sold last year compared to 2011 in a 12-county region around Pittsburgh.

“We haven't seen a double digit year-end increase in the number of homes placed under agreement (sold) since 2002 in southwestern Pennsylvania,” said George Hackett, West Penn Multi-List president and president of Coldwell Banker Real Estate Services, in a news release.

West Penn Multi-List bases its report on 12 counties: Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Washington, Westmoreland, Fayette, Greene, Clarion, Lawrence, Mercer and Somerset.