OMAHA, Neb. — Midwest home sales remained strong in May because the expiring tax credits helped drive sales nearly 22 percent higher than last year, according to data released Tuesday, June 22, by the National Association of Realtors.

About 130,000 home sales were reported in the 11-state region in May, and the median home price increased more than 2 percent, to $150,700.

The Dayton area did better than the region with a nearly 41 percent jump in home sales from last May. Exactly 1,200 single-family homes were sold, the most since August 2007. But the average price of those homes climbed less than one-half percent to $126,966, the Dayton Area Board of Realtors said.

The local increase in May follows a 14.2 increase in March and a 25.7 jump in April, when compared with those same months in 2009.

Midwest sales again rose slightly more than the national ones. Non-seasonally adjusted figures show May home sales nationwide increased about 18 percent over last year, and the median sales price increased nearly 3 percent to $179,600.

The Associated Press-Re/Max Monthly Housing Report, also released Tuesday, showed home sales increasing in all but one of the 12 major Midwestern cities tracked. Fargo, N.D., led the region with a 66 percent sales jump, while Detroit reported a 15 percent drop.

Most of the other cities recorded annual sales increases between 12 percent and 34 percent.

“I think a lot of that has to do with the tax credit,” said Greg Baldwin, an agent with Realty Executives North Plains in Fargo.

Home buyers had to have a signed sales contract by April 30 to qualify for the federal tax credits of up to $8,000. Those buyers must close their purchases by the end of June to receive the credits, so the program will likely continue driving sales figures through the end of the month.

Jim Merrion, regional director of Re/Max Northern Illinois, said the tax credit definitely played a role in the uptick in home sales in May. But he said activity hasn’t decreased after the credit expired nearly as much as he anticipated, so the market may be improving.

“We expected the drop would have been more dramatic,” Merrion said.

The AP-Re/Max report includes sales by all real estate agents in the metropolitan statistical area, regardless of company affiliation. The report covers Chicago; Cleveland; Des Moines, Iowa; Detroit; Fargo, N.D.; Indianapolis; Kansas City, Mo.; Milwaukee; Minneapolis; Omaha, Neb.; St. Louis; and Wichita, Kan.