Lower prices, coupled with rates on fixed mortgages that have dipped to the lowest levels on record, have created more incentive for buyers to enter the recovering housing market.

The market still has a long way to regain full strength five years after it collapsed. But the data from the first six months of 2012 suggest that a recovery is under way.

In McHenry County, home sales were up 13.2 percent in June, compared to June 2011 – from 296 to 335 homes sold. Home sales were up 27.7 percent in May, 26.6 percent in April, and 47.3 percent in March.