The Orlando housing market saw a 2% increase in median price in March, while year-over-year inventory rose 5% for its fifth consecutive month of increase and sales dropped 11% compared to last year, a new report from the Orlando Regional Realtor Association shows.

However, Orlando home sales were up 30% compared to February, and condo sales increased by 42%.

The median price of Orlando homes sold in March is $235,000, or 2.2% above the March 2018 median price of $230,000 and steady compared toFebruary's median price of $235,000.

Meanwhile, the overall inventory of homes that were available for purchase in March — 8,117 — represents an increase of 5.3% when compared to March 2018 and a 0.9% decrease compared to last month.

Home sales throughout Central Florida always are tracked closely, as the residential real estate market serves as a bellwether for economic health in metro Orlando because homes are needed to support Orlando's growing population.