TAMPA - The Tampa Bay area experienced its steepest home price slump in recent memory in January, while the number of home sales continued to drop. Sales activity in the area stands in stark contrast to national data that showed sales of existing homes rose by the largest number in two years.

"The housing market in Tampa doesn't look good at all," said Per Gunnar Berglund, senior economist for Moody's Economy.com. "This is the sharpest drop in pricing since the early 1990s."

The median sales price of existing single-family homes in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area was $214,000 in January, down 7 percent from December and significantly below the real estate market's $239,900 peak in June, according to data released Tuesday by the Florida Association of Realtors.

The association said the area's median sales price in January was 1 percent below the same month a year ago. In December, the median sales price was $230,800.

Lawrence Yun, economist for the National Association of Realtors in Washington, blames sticker shock for the downturn.

"It's the affordability issue; home prices have risen so much during the boom that it's very difficult for a first-time homebuyer to enter the market," he said.

Rising insurance costs have also sapped Florida sales, Yun said.

"That's definitely very unique to Florida," he said.

Prices have remained relatively steady in recent months as the number of home sales in the area has consistently dropped. In December, for example, the median sales price edged up just less than 1 percent from November's numbers.

There were 1,768 sales in January, down 41 percent from a year ago and down 27 percent from December's sales volume of 2,438.

"These numbers keep bouncing up and down, so we try not to read too much into them, but this is a new dive," Berglund said.

Yun said he does not think the Florida housing market will suffer too much. The job market remains strong, and many people continue to move to Florida from the Northeast, which should continue to drive demand for real estate, he said.

"This is a short-term correction," Yun said. "The local fundamentals are good."

Condo sales in Tampa continued a slowdown. There were 379 sales in January, down 49 percent from 740 sales in the same month last year. Condo prices dropped 1 percent year over year to a median sales price of $183,200.

Carlos Fuentes, president of the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors, said that despite the drop experienced by the larger metropolitan area, local data on prices in Hillsborough County are trending upward.

Nationally, sales soared while median prices continued to drop.

The National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday that sales of previously owned homes rose 3 percent last month, the biggest one-month increase since a 3.3 percent advance in January 2005, a time when housing was roaring toward the peak of its five-year boom.

The median price of an existing home sold in January dropped to $210,600, a decline of 3.1 percent from a year ago. It marked the sixth straight month that the median price has been down compared with a year ago. The January decline was the third-biggest drop in history.

Reporter Dave Simanoff contributed to this report. Information from The Associated Press also was used. Reporter Shannon Behnken can be reached at sbehnken@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7804.