DAYTON — Sales of area properties caught in foreclosure or repurchased by the lender climbed 19 percent between the first and second quarter.

But when compared with second quarter of last year, 22 percent fewer distressed and bank-owned properties changed hands in Greene, Miami, Montgomery and Preble counties, said RealtyTrac, a California-based firm that tracks foreclosure trends. A total of 660 such homes were sold in the second quarter.

The average sale price for those properties climbed to $65,705, versus $62,180 during the year-ago period. The average discount was 44.4 percent, versus an average discount of 50.1 percent a year earlier, RealtyTrac said.

Across the state, the number of foreclosed properties sold across the state fell 28 percent in the quarter to 6,868, compared with 9,612 properties during the year-ago quarter, RealtyTrac said. Nationally, 265,087 properties were sold in the second quarter, compared with 298,092 properties sold in the same period last year, an 11 percent decline.

James Saccacio, chief executive of RealtyTrac, said the lower average prices for distressed properties coupled with higher discount prices for them are good signs for buyers and investors looking for bargains in the real estate market.

He also said an increase in short sales at larger discounts signal that the housing market is figuring out how to handle distressed properties more efficiently in many areas of the country.

Also Tuesday, a report by the Federal Housing Finance Agency said as of the second quarter home prices in the Dayton metro area had fallen 3.89 percent over the last year. The agency’s price index includes both purchases and mortgage refinancings.

In Springfield, prices fell 4.5 percent. Cleveland area home prices during the same period fell 4.32 percent while in Cincinnati they dropped 4 percent. Columbus’ price index declined 3.28 percent over the last four quarters while Toledo’s slipped 2.85 percent.

Nationally, the index fell 4.5 percent over the four quarters.