The median price of a Bay Area home remained at a near-four-year-high in July and sales increased for the 13th consecutive month, as the real estate market continues to recover from the depths of the Great Recession with a renewed emphasis on higher priced homes.

Nearly 8,500 homes sold in July, representing a 22.9 percent increase from July of the previous year, at a median price of $421,000, 12.6 percent higher than the previous July, DataQuick reported Wednesday.

Sales have increased year-over-year in every month since July of 2011, and the median price is at its highest since August of 2008, when home prices were beginning to descend amid a wave of foreclosures attributed to the subprime mortgage crisis.

DataQuick attributed the continuing rise in both sales and prices to the market straying away from the pervasive pattern of foreclosure purchases, with demand for medium- and high-priced homes returning. The real estate tracking company said that about half of the growth in median price could be attributed to buyers targeting higher-priced homes.

“The market has really been lopsided the past couple of years, tilted toward low-end bargain chasing. Now it’s re-balancing, slowly, with increased activity in mid and move-up markets,” DataQuick president John Walsh said Wednesday.