TAMPA - Bay area home sales jumped 34 percent in November as buyers took advantage of a federal tax credit incentive. Meanwhile, prices showed more signs of stabilizing, according to Florida Realtors.

There were 2,282 existing single-family homes sold in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area during the month, compared with 1,701 sales in November 2008.

That comes on the heels of a 36 percent increase in sales in October and several months of double-digit increases. The median sale price fell 7 percent in November to $139,100.

"Things are stabilizing," said Pete Flint, chief executive of the real estate Web site Trulia.com. "There is a significant amount of buyer interest out there."

When it comes to prices, the month-to-month comparison is bright. Prices have been falling for nearly three years on an annual basis but have been fluctuating for the past six months.

November's median is actually higher than the September and October median sale prices of $137,800 and $137,500, respectively.

On the condo side, sales increased 80 percent, reflecting foreclosures and distressed sales. There were 665 sales in November, up from 370 a year ago.

Nationally, home resales surged in November to the highest level in nearly three years.

Buyers were racing to complete their deals before the original expiration date of a tax credit for first-time buyers scheduled to expire Nov. 30. Congress decided to extend and expand the credit to ensure the housing market could sustain its recovery.

The National Association of Realtors estimated that about 2 million homebuyers have taken advantage of the credit and forecasts that an additional 2.4 million will use it by the middle of 2010. First-time buyers made up about half of all transactions in November, driving sales 44 percent above last year's levels, a record jump.

Sales are up 46 percent from the bottom in January but down 10 percent from the peak more than four years ago.

The median sale price for the nation was $172,600, down 4.3 percent from a year earlier and up 0.2 percent from October.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. Reporter Shannon Behnken can be reached at (813) 259-7804.