FORT MYERS — The bargain hunters are out.

Sales made with the help of a Realtor in Southwest Florida rose again in July.

Existing single-family home sales — or resales — grew by 80 percent to 768, from 426 a year ago, in the Fort Myers/Cape Coral market. Condo sales rose 35 percent to 174, from 129 a year ago, according to statistics from the Florida Association of Realtors.

On Marco Island, 31 single-family homes sold, up 19 percent from 26 a year ago. Condo sales rose 5 percent to 41, up from 39 in the same month last year.

Meanwhile, the median price for a single-family home in Fort Myers-Cape Coral dropped 37 percent to $154,900, from $246,100 a year ago. Condo prices fell 9 percent to $210,400, from $230,400 last year.

The median price is the point at which half the homes are sold for more and half for less.

In Marco Island, median prices for single-family homes were down 14 percent to $462,500, from $540,900 last year. Condo prices fell slightly to $470,000, from $475,000 last July.

“The market has improved considerably here on Marco Island. We’ve had a much better season and first eight months of the year than we did last year,” said Steve Congrove, a manager of the Marco Island office for Premier Properties of Southwest Florida.

He said there are still weak spots in the market. But he’s confident the market on the island has hit bottom and is turning around.

“We’re very optimistic about the change in the market and we feel really good about it and very upbeat. Actually, we are doing business and showing property even in August, which is notoriously one of our slower times,” Congrove said.

Statistics were not available for the Naples area through the Florida Association of Realtors. But earlier this month, the Naples Area Board of Realtors in its own market report showed sales continued to rise in July. There were 361 home sales, up 31 percent from 275 a year ago.

Prices continue to get more affordable in the Naples area too. The median sales price for all homes fell 29 percent to $275,000, from $385,000 a year ago, according to NABOR.

The NABOR report tracks home sales made through the Sunshine MLS in Collier County, excluding Marco Island.

Statewide, single-family existing home sales were up for the first time in two years in July. Six more homes were sold than a year ago, bringing the total to 11,498, according to the Florida Association of Realtors. The last time sales were up year-over-year was at the end of 2005.

Florida’s median single-family home price in July was $193,600, down 19 percent from $238,900 a year ago.

Nationally, sales of existing homes rose in July, surpassing expectations, as buyers snapped up deeply discounted properties in parts of the country hit hardest by the housing bust.

However, the number of unsold properties hit an all-time high, the latest indication that the worst housing slump in decades is far from over. Prices nationwide are not expected to hit bottom until early next year.

The National Association of Realtors reported that sales rose 3.1 percent to 5 million units, up from June’s 4.85 million. Sales had been expected to rise by only 1.6 percent, according to economists surveyed by Thomson/IFR.

“The process of a recovery has begun,” said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors. “It’s not going to be short and swift, but it’s begun nonetheless.”

Home sales were about 13 percent lower than a year ago and prices were down dramatically. The median price for a home sold in July dropped to $212,000, down by 7.1 percent from a year ago.

Despite the third monthly sales increase this year, the number of unsold single-family homes and condominiums rose to 4.67 million, the highest number since 1968, when the Realtors group started tracking the data.

That represented a 11.2-month supply at the July sales pace, matching the all-time high set in April.

Until the inventory level is reduced to more normal levels, analysts say, the housing slump is likely to persist. The inventory level is being driven higher by a massive wave of mortgage foreclosures.

Between 33 percent and 40 percent of sales activity is coming from foreclosures or other distressed properties, said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the Realtors group.

While buyers are pouncing on lower prices — especially in places like Florida, California and Nevada — sales are sluggish in formerly stable states like Texas.

“People are responding to lower prices,” Yun said, but there is “too much uncertainty” about the housing market’s future to mark a definite bottom.

One key unknown for the U.S. housing market is the future ability of mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to supply money for loans. The two government-sponsored companies have dramatically cut back the availability of mortgages as they cope with mounting losses from foreclosures.

President Bush last month signed sweeping housing legislation that aims to prevent foreclosures by allowing an estimated 400,000 homeowners to swap their mortgages for more affordable loans, but only if their lender agrees to take a loss on the initial loan.

Even with government help, nearly 2.8 million U.S. households will either face foreclosure, turn over their homes to their lender or sell the properties for less than their mortgage’s value by the end of next year, predicts Moody’s Economy.com.

Staff writer Laura Layden contributed to this report.

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