Sales of higher-priced homes in central Indiana jumped by double digits in March, Re/Max of Indiana said Monday morning.

A total of 242 homes in the nine-county area sold for at least $250,000 last month, an increase of 23.5 percent from the same time last year, when 196 homes in the higher-priced segment sold.

Overall homes sales in March were up 6.7 percent from the previous year, to 1,997.

Dan Breault, regional director of Re/Max of Indiana, said in a written release that the federal homebuyer tax credit may have spurred more activity.

“We hope to see both sales and pricing continue to reflect a robust real estate market as the April 30 tax credit deadline approaches and we enter the traditionally busy spring home-buying season,” he said in the statement.

Other housing data reported by Re/Max in March included:

—A total of 5,041 homes came on the market, a 22-percent increase compared with March 2009, and a 44-percent surge from the previous month.

—Pended sales, or listings expected to close within the next 30 days, totaled 2,502, or 10.3 percent higher than at the same time last year.

—The average home price in the nine-county area was $140,104, up 10 percent from a year earlier.