Distressed properties may not be driving the spring home-selling market, but they can be considered a co-pilot.

Sales of existing homes in Chicago recorded their sixth consecutive month of year-over-year improvement in February, the first month of what is traditionally the start of the buying season. But for every 10 single-family homes and condominiums sold within the city last month, four were distressed properties.

Foreclosures, once dismissed as unseemly, are increasingly in upscale neighborhoods and in move-in condition, and their bargain-priced sales are causing a ripple throughout the market.

In the past six months, the median sales price in Chicago has plummeted 21.6 percent, to $176,500 in February from $225,000 in September, according to data from the Illinois Association of Realtors. For the Chicago area as a whole, the median sales price has dropped 17 percent, to $165,000 in last month from $199,000 in September.

Meanwhile, the Illinois Association of Realtors reported Monday that February sales of existing single-family homes and condos in the Chicago area rose 32 percent last month compared with the same month a year ago. It was the eighth consecutive month of year-over-year sales-volume improvement. Compared with a year ago, the median price fell 10.3 percent.

Within Chicago, sales posted a 41.5 percent increase in February over the year-ago period, representing a sixth consecutive month of year-over-year gains. Sales of Chicago condos rose 44 percent. The February median price for the city as a whole was down 19.3 percent year over year, and down 10.7 percent for condos.

The growing disconnect between sales volume and price is a concern for homeowners looking to list their home for sale this spring, real estate agents say.

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