OSPF route selection

[Thomas Goldberg]

Hello,

we're using OSPF for anycast routing and came across a small problem.

We've a BIRD v1.4.4 router which sits in area 0 and 16.
Here's the relevant state information (10.236.144.144/32 is announced
from two different routers in two areas):

area 0.0.0.0
        router 10.236.144.241
                distance 33
                external 10.236.144.144/32 metric 1

area 0.0.0.16
        router 10.17.224.253
                distance 111
                external 10.236.144.144/32 metric 1

The route via area 16 is considered best:
10.236.144.144/32 via 10.176.3.29 on vlan542 [o_internal 2014-10-07
16:49:56] * E1 (150/112) [10.17.224.253]

Given that both E1 routes are reachable via intra-area paths.
We're wondering why the path via area 16 (higher costs than area 0) is chosen.
Is this the intended behavior?
Is there any way to make bird prefer routes via a specific/backbone
area in a situation like this?

Best Regards,
Freddy