Sales of existing homes in the Midwest fell 10 percent in April from a year ago as the uncertain economy kept all but first-time home buyers and steely investors on the sidelines.

The median sales price of an existing home in the 12-state region declined almost 12 percent to $138,800, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. The numbers show the twin effects of a customer pool dominated by low-cost buyers and distressed property sales that continue to drag down prices.

On a national, non-seasonally adjusted basis, existing home sales dropped 4.6 percent from April of last year, while the median sales price slid more than 15 percent to $170,200, the Realtors reported.

The Midwest didn’t see the ballooning home prices during the real estate boom, but the region is being hammered by layoffs in the auto industry. Sales of previously occupied home fell in 10 of 12 major Midwestern tracked in the Associated Press-Re/Max Monthly Housing Report, also released Wednesday.

The survey includes all home sales recorded in the metropolitan statistical area by all local agents, regardless of company affiliation.

Median sale prices sagged in 11 of the 12 markets with only Fargo, N.D., busting the trend. There, the median price rose 1.4 percent to $140,500 while sales dropped about 26 percent, according to the AP-Re/Max report.

Wichita, Kan., experienced the biggest sales drop of the region, declining 26 percent, the AP-Re/Max report showed, although the median home price stayed virtually flat, declining just 2 percent to $120,000.

Tim Holt, a real estate agent with Realty Executives of Wichita, said he’s seen an increase in calls from potential buyers, many attracted by an $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time buyers.

“That’s going to have a trickle-down effect because people selling their homes to (first-time buyers) will be buying other homes,” Holt said.

Kansas City real estate agent Dan Vick said he believes the influence of first-time homebuyers will strengthen later this summer as renters begin getting out from their leases and will be ready to buy.

Home sales in Kansas City declined almost 22 percent in April from a year ago.