DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. – Sales of single-family detached homes jumped by about 10 percent in 2009, an impressive increase over 2008, according to statistics released today by the Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS® (MORe).

MORe measured activity on homes in about 120 southern and western suburban communities through information from Midwest Real Estate Data LLC. It was the first year-to-year sales increase in at least five years.

Also, December detached home sales for the same communities were up by 33 percent from a year ago, the seventh consecutive monthly increase.

“This was a much better year than 2008, especially the last four months,” said Mike Drews, President of MORe, and the Designated REALTOR® of Charles Doss, REALTORS®, in the Aurora and Oswego areas. “There is more confidence in the market now. The first-time homebuyers credit helped boost sales, and a lot of inventory has been cleared out.”

Many communities in Cook and DuPage counties showed impressive gains in 2009, most notably:

• Southern Cook: Bridgeview (49 percent increase from 2008), Calumet Park (55 percent), Country Club Hills (48 percent), Justice (65 percent), Summit (100 percent); and University Park (57 percent).

• Western Cook: Bellwood (112 percent increase from 2008); Franklin Park (72 percent); Maywood (55 percent); Melrose Park (107 percent); and Schiller Park (89 percent).

• DuPage County area: Addison (75 percent increase from 2008); Bensenville (106 percent); Burr Ridge (58 percent); Glendale Heights (71 percent); and Hinsdale (24 percent).

The December sales increases were strongest in these communities: Aurora (46 percent increase from December 2008); Bellwood (130 percent); Country Club Hills (100 percent); Evergreen Park (240 percent); Glendale Heights (188 percent); Maywood (129 percent); Oak Lawn (93 percent); and West Chicago (144 percent).

Drews also noted that sales of condos and townhouses increased by 28 percent in December, and that the number of pending sales on attached homes is up by 89 percent over the previous year.

“It looks like we’re getting to the end of the glut of condos and townhouses on the market,” Drews said.

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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.