Local home sales saw a slight uptick during the fourth quarter, but the improvement wasn’t big enough to boost 2011’s overall totals.

Shelby County registered 2,939 home sales in the October-December period, a 4 percent increase from Q4 2010, which totaled 2,820, according to real estate information company Chandler Reports, www.chandlerreports.com.

But as home sales picked up, pricing did the opposite. Home sales averaged $120,253 during the fourth quarter, a 5 percent drop from $126,734 during the same quarter in 2010.

Total sales volume also took a hit, falling to $353 million from $357 million a year ago.

Of the county’s 34 ZIP codes, Frayser’s 38127 sold the most homes – 179 averaging $23,665 and totaling $4 million. But 61 of those sales were bank, or foreclosure, sales averaging $17,476 and totaling $1 million.

Overall, bank sales declined 3 percent in the fourth quarter to 770. Bank sales averaged $67,932 and totaled $52.3 million.

Meanwhile, nonbank, or traditional, sales increased 7 percent in 2011’s fourth quarter. Sales in the category reached 2,169 compared to 2,026 in Q4 2010.

New home sales were basically unchanged year over year, totaling 190 in Q4 and 186 in Q4 2010.

Existing home sales also saw a 4 percent boost, totaling 2,749 in 2011 compared to 2,634 in 2010. The average price of an existing home in the county, however, dropped 4 percent to $133,693 in Q4.