BOSTON — Massachusetts home sales remain down so far this year when compared with 2008, The Warren Group reported Tuesday.

The research group reported 25,984 sales of single-family homes during the first eight months of 2009, compared with 27,364 during the same period of last year.

However, August 2009 appeared brighter than August 2008. The group reported 4,480 sales last month, a 2 percent increase over a year earlier.

“This is a modest increase in single-family home sales, but the fact that sales have improved for two months straight after declining steadily for the first half of the year, is a hopeful sign,” Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group, said in a statement. “However, unemployment, mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures remain a challenge to a quick housing recovery.”

In Bristol County, Mass., The Warren Group reported 301 sales in August, up from 292 in August 2008. But the median price slid to $241,000 from $255,000 a year earlier.

The median sale price statewide in August was $302,625, down from $322,500 last year. The year-to-date median sales price also remains down 10 percent, at $285,000.

The group also reported an 8 percent year-over-year decline in sales of condominiums.

The median condo price dipped 6.8 percent to $275,000 from $295,000. The year-to-date median condo price is off 8.2 percent to $257,000 from $280,000.

“The condominium market hasn’t experienced any gains in monthly sales for over two years, and condo prices have fallen sharply. But in the last two months, declines in both sales and prices eased a bit,” Warren said.

The Warren Group Inc. is a provider of New England real estate data and the publisher of Banker & Tradesman and other journals. Additional information is available at TheWarrenGroup.com.