CHICAGO—The regional housing market finally began perking up in March, and in April it maintained that upward momentum, posting sharp gains in both home sales and values. RE/MAX reports that 9,037 units in the seven-county metro area were sold last month, 7.5% more than in April 2014. Furthermore, the median home sales price was $210,000, an 11% boost over the prior April.

“What we're seeing now is that rising home values are encouraging a growing number of homeowners to sell,” Jim Merrion, regional director of the RE/MAX Northern Illinois real estate network, tells GlobeSt.com. But he also considers the 10% increase in the homes listed for sale this April versus the last just as important in gauging the market's recovery. “Inventory has been so tight in some areas that it has created a frustrating lack of choices for buyers."

The uptick in sales and prices comes at the same time new home construction has also started to take off. According to data from the US Commerce Department, new home construction in April reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.135 million, the most since 2007 and a 20.2% increase over March, the biggest percentage leap in more than two decades.