Home sales in the Miami area rose 5% in November with 7,855 closings on the books, DataQuick said this week.

That figure is up 17.5% from a year ago and the highest November sales level since 2006 when 10,369 home closings were recorded by the San Diego-based research firm.

DataQuick attributes the faster sales pace to lower prices and mortgage rates, as well as demand from domestic and foreign investors.

Sales grew the most in the lower and upper price ranges. The number of homes that sold for less than $100,000 rose 21.2% year-over-year in November, while those selling for an amount higher than $800,000 saw a 26.9% gain in sales.

For the middle market – priced at $200,000 to $600,000 – sales posted a much smaller 7.2% annual gain.

Meanwhile, the multimillion-dollar luxury market, which includes homes sold for an amount above $2 million, recorded 60 home sales in November, which is a 33.3% gain from October and a 36.4% jump from last year.

The median price paid on all home sales in the region grew 5.4% from October, but fell 3.6% from last year. The November median price hit $136,000, which is 53.5% below the June 2007 median price of $290,000.

Write to Kerri Panchuk.