The number of single-family homes put under agreement in 2011 was down 1.9 percent compared to 2010, while condominium pending home sales were down almost 20 percent over 2010, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR).

There were a total of 46,477 single-family homes put under agreement in 2011, compared to 47,384 single-family homes put under agreement in 2010. The number of condominiums put under agreement in 2011 dropped 19.7 percent to 16,434 units, compared to 20,460 units in 2010.

The year ended on a positive note, MAR said, with the number of single-family homes put under agreement in December rising for the eighth straight month compared to the same time in 2010. Condo pending sales were also up from the same time in 2010.

"The year ended on a positive note with eight straight months of pending sales increases," said 2012 MAR President Trisha McCarthy, broker at Keller Williams Realty in Newburyport. "People who made the decision to buy in 2011 were able to take advantage of lower prices and historically low interest rates to get into a home. If this trend continues, then the market could be on its way back to more normal levels."

The number of single-family homes put under agreement in December rose 11.7 percent to 3,227, compared to 2,888 during the same time last year.
The number of condos put under agreement in December was up 13 percent to 1,179 compared to 1,046 in December 2010.