Palm Beach County’s existing home sales continued to climb in June with 1,184 transactions, a 9 percent increase compared to the same time last year, and the fourth consecutive month of sales topping 1,000.

A report released Wednesday by the Florida Realtors also showed a 6 percent increase in Palm Beach County home sales in June from the previous month.

Statewide, home sales slumped 4 percent from last year but inched up 2 percent from May.

“My phone is literally ringing off the hook,” said Scott Pressman a Realtor with Keyes Real Estate in Boca Raton. “Everyone believes Florida is a great bargain right now.”

Six of Florida’s 19 regions experienced annual single-family home sales gains, including Palm Beach, Miami and Broward counties.

That’s in contrast with national sales of existing homes that fell slightly in June from the previous month and are down 9 percent from the same time in 2010.

Analysts at the National Association of Realtors, which also released its June report Wednesday, blamed contract cancellations for the sales slide.

A survey of members found 16 percent had a deal canceled in June, up from 4 percent in May.

“The underlying reason for elevated cancellations is unclear,” said National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, who pointed to tighter lending standards, low appraisals and the economy as possible explanations. “Economic uncertainty and the federal budget debacle may be causing hesitation among some consumers or lenders.”

Nationally, total sales of existing homes, townhomes and condominiums declined 0.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.77 million in June from 4.81 million in May. The national median sales price in June for a single-family home was $184,600, up 0.6 percent from a year ago.

Florida’s median price for a single-family home fell 2 percent in June to $138,000 statewide from last year and 12 percent in Palm Beach County to $204,900. Treasure Coast prices fell 1 percent to $112,200 in June from the same time last year.

“Prices have been trending downward, but they’re not going off a cliff,” said Bill Hardin, a Florida International University professor and director of real estate programs at the school. “”Truthfully, this is one of the very good opportunities to buy because prices are down and interest rates are low.”

According to Freddie Mac, the national average rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage was 4.51 percent in June, down from 4.64 percent in May. The rate was 4.74 percent in June 2010.

Hardin acknowledged that getting a loan can be a hurdle for buyers with weak credit scores and other debt. Pressman said about 70 percent of his recent closings have been cash deals.

Nationally, cash sales made up about 29 percent of June transactions, barely down from 30 percent in May.

“It’s back to the way it used to be with lending and people need to be aware of it,” Hardin said. “We’ve gone from no one checking credit to now they check up until the last day before closing.”

With sales up in Palm Beach County, inventory has been on the decline. A June report from the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches found just eight months worth of inventory on the market compared to 15 months at the same time last year and 21 months in 2009. How those numbers will be affected by foreclosures and other distressed sales not yet on the market – so-called shadow inventory – is still unknown.

Hardin predicts prices will jump around in South Florida through at least the end of 2012 as more foreclosures work through the system.

Homebuyer Mark Rindom is hoping not to wait that long to make a purchase. The 27-year-old and his wife have already been in the market for a year, looking for homes with big yards in areas from Jupiter to The Acreage.

The couple finally found something in Bay Hill Estates off Northlake Boulevard. But it’s a short sale, which Rindom knows could take months to close.

“I’m expecting the worst,” he said, “but hoping for the best.”

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