Home prices in the Asheville metropolitan area fell 7.2 percent in April compared with the same month a year ago, according to real estate data firm First American CoreLogic.

The drop was an improvement over March, when the company said prices were down 8.7 percent from March 2008.

Meanwhile, national housing prices fell 10.2 percent in April compared with a year ago. Prices showed less of a decline in the Charlotte area, with a 3.8 percent drop, and in the Raleigh area, down 2.6 percent.

The data are based on comparisons of sales of the same homes over time.