DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. – Sales of single-family detached homes went up 8.6 percent in August compared with the same period a year ago, according to statistics released today by the Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS® (MORe), indicating the third consecutive monthly increase.

MORe measured activity on homes in about 120 southern and western suburban communities through information from Midwest Real Estate Data LLC.

“We’re definitely seeing many first-time homebuyers take advantage of the various economic incentives available to them,” said Mike Drews, President of MORe, and the Designated REALTOR® of Charles Doss, REALTORS®, in the Aurora and Oswego areas. “There was a 9.4 percent increase in homes sold in the summer months of June, July and August in 2009 compared to the same period in 2008.”

There were notable home sales gains across the 120-community area, where the numbers of homes sold leaped by double- and triple-digit percentages.

Standouts in the south suburbs for number of homes sold were Chicago Heights (92 percent increase from a year ago); Country Club Hills (64 percent); Evergreen Park (73 percent); Lemont (100 percent); and Oak Forest (64 percent).

In DuPage County, home sale activity was highest in Addison (225 percent increase from a year ago); Downers Grove (36 percent); Glendale Heights (170 percent); Lombard (100 percent); and Villa Park (57 percent).

Exceptional home sale activity was posted in the western Cook communities of Brookfield (183 percent increase from a year ago); Burbank (100 percent); Westchester (171 percent); and Western Springs (90 percent).

In addition, the number of homes under contract (but not yet closed) in the same West and South Suburban Chicago area was 52 percent higher than a year ago, the ninth consecutive month of year-to-year growth in pending sales.

There were standout increases in homes under contract in several suburban communities, particularly in Addison (350 percent increase from a year ago); Bensenville (1,400 percent); Glen Ellyn (65 percent); Maywood (210 percent); Melrose Park (400 percent); and Naperville (39 percent).

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For nearly a century, MORe has been dedicated to anticipating and serving the needs of more than 11,500 REALTORS®, affiliates and licensed appraisers in South and West Suburban Chicagoland. MORe is the second largest REALTOR® member organization in Illinois, and the seventh largest in the nation. To learn what a REALTOR® can do for you, visit www.succeedwithmore.com.