TAMPA - Florida's housing market showed a few more signs of life in June.

For the 10th consecutive month, sales of existing homes showed better year-to-year comparisons, according to the Florida Association of Realtors.

Existing home sales rose 28 percent last month with a total of 15,850 homes sold statewide compared with 12,339 homes sold in June 2008, according to the Realtors association. Statewide existing home sales in June increased 13.8 percent over May's statewide activity.

Florida also saw a 39 percent rise in statewide sales of existing condos in June; condo sales last month rose 8.3 percent over the total units sold in May.

In the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area, the group reported a 21 percent rise in the number of home sales in June - 2,848 homes - though the median price was $178,700, down 22 percent from the same period a year ago.

All Florida markets saw year-over-year median price declines, except one: Punta Gorda, where 10 homes were sold in June with a median price of $145,600, up 3 percent from the year before.

A federal $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers helped boost the movement of homes, the group said, as did historically low mortgage rates of about 5.42 percent for some buyers.

Nationwide, it's the first time in five years that sales of existing homes have increased three months in a row, leading experts to think the market is recovering from the housing crisis.

U.S. home sales rose 3.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million last month, from a downwardly revised pace of 4.72 million in May. Sales were up in all four regions of the country.

"The turnaround in the housing market appears finally to be here and indeed may be gaining some speed," wrote Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors Inc.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. Reporter Richard Mullins can be reached at (813) 259-7919.