Any or all of those factors may have contributed to a 12 percent increase in recent single-family home sales statewide, mirroring the general level of activity on the North Shore, although results varied widely from town to town.

Compared to sales last July, home sales in the commonwealth were 12 percent higher in July 2009, and median prices, while still declining, dropped less than they have been, down 4.7 percent to $305,000 from $320,000. It was the first month this year sales have risen compared to the same month last year.

Of the four largest communities on the North Shore, Danvers, Salem and Peabody all saw home sales jump, although prices were down, as much as 12 percent in Peabody and as little 4 percent in Salem, close to the statewide average.

However, while Beverly sales dipped 26 percent compared to last year, it appears homeowners got closer to their asking prices, with the median price marginally up just over 1 percent.

And in Middleton, a hot market until the recession hit, sales dropped nearly 29 percent from a year ago, yet prices climbed just over 7 percent. And for the first seven months of the year, Middleton prices are 18 percent over the previous year’s.

Aside from Wenham, where sales are statistically difficult to extrapolate, Swampscott was the hot spot in July 2009, with total sales up nearly 54 percent. But while homes were moving, sellers were getting $44,500 less, on average, than a year ago, a 13.45 percent drop.

In Peabody and Salem, the only two North Shore communities where median selling prices were less than $300,000, sales were sharply up compared to last year, 32 and 35 percent respectively. In Marblehead, the only town where median prices were over $500,000, sales were down nearly 30 percent.

That reflects a nationwide trend, local Realtor Kathleen Sullivan said.

“The first-time buyer tax credit has definitely had a positive impact,” said Sullivan, who along with her husband, Terry Sullivan, owns Remax Advantage, with offices in the Cummings Center in Beverly. “The price range that’s hurting is the higher price range. The government hasn’t given any assistance for jumbo loans.”

And while July’s snapshot shows signs of improvement, the first seven months of 2009 were still slow compared to the previous year in nearly every community on the North Shore.

But in Ipswich, Salem and Topsfield, sales are ahead of 2008, from 34 percent in Salem to just under 12 percent in Ipswich.

Information obtained from the Warren Group was used in this report.