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The recovery underway in the local residential real estate market continued in April, according to the last monthly data compiled from MLS-PIN. In greater Boston, sales of detached single-family homes and condominiums each rose for an eighth consecutive month in April compared to the same month last year, while median selling prices for homes and condos increased 14 percent and 8 percent respectively during the past 12 months.

A total of 799 detached single-family homes were sold last month, which represents a 45 percent increase over the April 2009 sales level, and is the sixth best sales total on record for the month of April in the 54 communities that comprise the GBAR jurisdictional area. Condo sales increased an even more robust 50 percent over the past 12 months to 794 units sold in April 2010, making it the fifth strongest April sales total ever recorded in greater Boston.

In the detached single-family home market, the median selling price has now increased six of the past eight months dating back to September 2009, an indication that prices in most communities have stabilized and that trade-up buyers have been returning to the market in increasing numbers this spring. Still, April’s median selling price of $440,200 for detached single-family homes remains 18.3 percent below the peak monthly median price of $539,000 recorded in August 2005, and this improved affordability along with continued near record low mortgage rates should keep demand strong through the summer months.

Similarly, the median selling price for condos has risen for five consecutive months on an annual basis in greater Boston, following an extended period in which the median price fell during 16 of 17 months prior to December 2009. The condo median price remains 9.9 percent below its peak of $372,000 set in July 2007.