The median sales price of a home in the Orlando area held steady at $105,000 for the second month in a row. But area home prices in October were more than 19% below the $130,000 garnered a year ago, according to the Orlando Regional Realtor Association. When short sales and REO homes are removed from the equation, prices for traditional sales rose to $173,000 for October, up 10.2% from September and 1.42% below the median price of $175,500 a year earlier. The median price for REOs — those homes that are lender-owned — was $70,000 in October, nearly flat with $71,000 in September. The median price for short sales last month was $90,000, down 18% from $113,500 the prior month. “The wide variation in median price fluctuation across sales type categories is yet another demonstration how the sheer quantity of short sales and foreclosures continues to pull down the overall median price for the Orlando real estate market,” said ORRA Chairman Mike McGraw of McGraw Real Estate Services. Of the 1,848 homes sold by ORRA members in October, 605 traditional sales accounted for just one-third of the total, while 760 REOs and 483 short sales made up 67%. The number of homes sold in October is a 20% decrease from the year earlier, but for the year to date, Orlando area home sales are up 26% over the same period in 2009. New contracts filed in October (3,466) were down 10% from October 2009 (3,864). Data on pending sales — an indicator of future sales activity – show 8,817 homes under contract, a decrease of 2.6% from October 2009. Homes of all types spent an average of 91 days on the market before coming under contract in October, with the average home selling for 94.6% of its list price. In October 2009, those numbers were 92 days and 94.2%. There is an inventory of 15,441 homes for sale through the multiple listing service, or more than an eight-month supply. October 2009 recorded 6.79 months of supply. The sales of condos in the Orlando area increased by 0.7% in October when compared to October of 2009 and decreased by 23% compared to September. To date, condo sales are up 60% (5,636) compared to 2009 (3,519). Write to Kerry Curry.