As we launch into 2012, here are some interesting statistics from the Illinois Association of REALTORS® on residential real estate market conditions:

Interest rates continued to drop. In December the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in the North Central region was 3.94 percent for December 2011, according to Freddie Mac. In December 2010 the rate was 4.8 percent. This once-in-a-generation opportunity has created more sales and refinancing interest. In short, the rates are seen by many homebuyers as too good to pass up.

Consumer confidence is increasing as the labor market appears to be improving. According to a Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan survey, an index of consumer sentiment reached its highest level in eight months. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index also showed gains, reporting levels last seen in April 2011. Better consumer confidence translates to more people comfortable with making a home purchase.

The decrease in median residential sales prices means that price points are reaching truly attractive levels for consumers who have put off such purchases in the face of economic uncertainty. According to data compiled by the Illinois Association of REALTORS®, the last time consumers saw home prices this low ($137,500 in December 2011) was in 2000 when the median price was $140,800.

There have been six straight months of increases in the number of single-family home sales. There was a significant turning point in July. The swing since July has been as high as 27.1 percent (August) and as low as 13.9 percent (September).

Although there were home sales gains in the second half of 2011, they were not enough to swing the numbers into positive territory for the full year. The good news is that strong sales in the second half of the year caused year-to-year comparisons to be relatively flat (down just a tenth of percent).

While overall sales of single-family homes appeared to be gaining traction in the second half of 2011, median home prices still struggled. Year-over-year comparisons show that the median home price recorded decreased in every month. The worst months for median price declines were April (-12.9 percent) and March (-12.2 percent). The best was July (-5 percent).

Fifty-two counties out of 102 in Illinois (51 percent) showed increases in home sales from 2010 to 2011. Forty-three counties showed gains in the median price.

Chicago PMSA All counties in the Chicago PMSA showed gains in home sales in December. DeKalb County led the pack with a 44.7 percent gain over December 2010, followed by Grundy County with 40.7 percent. Cook County lagged with a gain of 12.3 percent.

For the year, all counties in the PMSA except Cook showed home sales gains. Kendall County was the leader with a 13.3 percent gain in home sales over 2010. Cook County saw a decrease of 2.5 percent for the year.

Most Chicagoland PMSA counties showed decreases in December median prices. Grundy (3.7 percent) was the lone exception. DeKalb (-21.1 percent) and Will (-19.3 percent) counties had the steepest declines.

Previous month comparisons show some sales increases in the Chicago PMSA (November, 2011 to December, 2011.) Only Grundy County (0 percent) showed no gain for the measurement period. DeKalb (23.6 percent) and Will (18.5 percent) counties showed the strongest month-to-month gains.