Home sales in the Chicago area jumped 38.3 percent in March, and home prices rose but at a much more modest level. Sales and prices also increased in the city of Chicago and statewide.

There were 4,260 new and existing homes sold last month in the Chicago area, compared with 3,081 in February, the Illinois Association of Realtors said Thursday. The median prices for homes rose 5.7 percent to $194,000 from $183,500 for that period.

Although the numbers improved sequentially, the year-over-year numbers remain depressed. Sales tumbled 26 percent from March 2008, and the median price fell nearly 22 percent.

Rick Sobin, managing broker at Prudential Preferred Properties in Chicago, has noticed an uptick in interest in buying.

“We’re finally starting to see activity pick up,” he said. “Buyers are really now having faith that this could be the bottom for interest rates and are absorbing what is on the market.”

New and existing home sales in the city of Chicago increased 40.6 percent in March from February. There were 1,181 homes sold in March, compared with 840 in February. Sales declined, however, 42.2 percent from March 2008. The median price was $220,000, 0.8 percent higher than February’s median price.

Statewide home sales spiked 35.5 percent last month to 6,944 homes. The median price rose 6.6 percent to $149,995.

The figures are in stark contrast to national existing home sales, which the National Association of Realtors said declined 3 percent in March. A positive sign, however, was the increase in first-time buyers, which accounted for 53 percent of transactions last month.

“First-time homebuyers are taking advantage of stimulus packages and tax cuts,” said Mary Schaeffer, a member of the Illinois Association of Realtors, referring to the $8,000 tax credit that.

Geoffrey Hewings, director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory of the University of Illinois, said in the state home sales press release that he anticipates home sales will be “positive” sequentially through June statewide and in the Chicago area, with the largest increase occurring in May. However, Adolfo Laurenti, senior economist with Mesirow Financial Holdings Inc., is not as optimistic.

“I believe that we might be closer to the bottom so I don’t expect things to get any worse, but I don’t see any immediate upside potential,” he said. “The weak job market associated with the economy does not mean recovery.”

Sobin also warned against being too confident.

“We have to be cautious,” he said. “We want to be optimistic, but we just don’t know what is going to happen here in the future and how the economy is going to affect future buyers.”