BOSTON – Sales of single-family homes in Massachusetts rose 4.5 percent in September compared with a year earlier, according to real estate tracking firm The Warren Group.

The group said 3,785 homes sold last month. Year to date, sales remain 4 percent behind last year’s figures and the median sale price is down 9.5 percent to $285,000.

In Bristol County, Mass., year-to-date sales are virtually the same as 2008, with the group reporting 2,218 this year compared to 2,225 last year. The median sale price is down 8.6 percent to $240,000 this year.

September was the third consecutive month that saw a rise in single-family home sales in Massachusetts.

“The increase in home sales for three months straight is giving us some hope that the housing market is truly on the mend,” said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group, who attributed some of the increase to the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers.

“If this trend of increased sales volume continues through October, we may end the year with about the same number of home sales as 2008,” Warren said.

By contrast, the condominium market has lagged 2008 sales this year.

The Warren Group reported 13,453 condo sales in the first nine months of the year, a nearly 16 percent drop from last year. However, September saw the first year-over-year increase in condo sales in more than two years, with an increase of 3.7 percent compared with a year earlier.

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.