Metro home prices drop in 2007

St. Paul, Minn. — (AP) - Twin Cities home sale prices dropped in 2007 for the first time in at least 20 years.

The median sale price for a home in the 13-county metro area slipped 2.2 percent last year, to $225,000. That's the first time the metrowide sale price has fallen for the year since at least 1988.

Officials from several Twin Cities real-estate groups say home sale prices are expected to remain flat or fall slightly in the coming year.

Closed sales in the Twin Cities fell 16.4 percent during 2007, to just over 40,000.

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