Summit County home sales increased in December — the sixth month in a row they were up over the same month in 2010.Sales for all of last year were higher than those for the previous year, but they were down from totals in 2009 and 2008, according to the Akron Area Board of Realtors.Area Realtors were buoyed by the numbers.“I think we’ve seen the bottom, and we’re only going to see a lot more activity and increase in market value,” said David Chervenic, president of Keller Williams Chervenic Realty.A total of 441 homes were sold in December in the county, up 23.2 percent from December 2010, according to the Akron agency.For all of 2011, a total of 5,085 homes changed hands, up 6.6 percent from the 4,769 sold in 2010 but down 11 percent from the 5,718 sold in 2009.An accompanying graphic shows numbers that vary slightly because different methods were used to collect historical data.Summit home sales remain below pre-recession levels, as the region continues to struggle with a weak economy.The average unemployment rate for the state last year was 8.8 percent, down from 10.1 percent in 2010 and 10.1 percent in 2009, but still historically high.Jim Camp, partner and general manager with Cutler Real Estate, said some Realtors are reporting they are having difficulty finding a “well-priced, good inventory” of homes to sell.“A lot of that is coming off the market, being sold and we don’t have a lot of new inventory,” he said.Camp said the inventory is being squeezed by a lack of new houses, attractive to move-up buyers.“The banks are still not loaning any money to build,” he said.Some buyers, who might want to move up, are staying put, keeping their houses off the market, he said.Continued drag on pricesAs for prices, area real-estate agents say foreclosures and short sales — which occur when a lender allows the property to be sold for less than what is owed on the mortgage — continue to drag on prices.The median price in Summit County in December 2011 declined to $95,100, down 7.7 percent from $103,000 in 2010.The average price, meanwhile, increased slightly in December, rising 2.4 percent to $126,029 from December 2010’s average of $123,099.For the entire year, prices were down.The median price per home sold in Summit in all of 2011 was $99,000, down 12.4 percent from $113,000 in 2010.The average price in all of 2011 was $126,130, down 7.6 percent from 2010’s average of $136,573.Camp doesn’t see prices falling significantly further.He noted that agents are seeing multiple offers on some foreclosed properties. “The nicer [foreclosed] properties are being sold at more than full price,” he said.Camp and others said a big reason to jump into the market is historically low interest rates. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.88 percent this week, a record low.Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com.