The number of Massachusetts single-family homes put under agreement in December was up 5.3 percent compared to the same time last year, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR).

This is the first significant increase in year-over-year pending sales in seven months. The number of homes put under agreement in 2010 was down 2.5 percent compared to 2009, MAR said.

A total of 2,888 single-family homes were put under agreement in December, up 5.29 percent from 2,743 during the same month last year. On a month-to-month basis, single-family homes put under agreement were down 15.2 percent from 3,404 homes in November.

"With the different twists and turns the market took in 2010, it was encouraging to close out the year with an increase in the number of homes put under agreement," said 2011 MAR President Laurie Cadigan, broker/owner of Barrett & Co. in Concord. "We can most likely attribute some of the increase in pending sales to the slight rise in consumer confidence and recent uptick in interest rates as buyers who were ready, but on the sidelines, made the decision to enter the market."

A total of 1,046 condos were put under agreement in December, down 16 percent compared from 1,249 units in December 2009. On a month-to-month basis, condos put under agreement were down 16.4 percent from 1,251 units in November.

There were a total of 47,384 single-family homes put under agreement in 2010, which was down 2.5 percent compared to 48,584 single-family homes put under agreement in 2009. The number of condominiums put under agreement in 2010 dropped 6.7 percent to 20,460 units, compared to 21,929 in 2009.