Utah home sales saw strong gains in the first quarter 2010, rising 20 percent compared to last year as housing markets throughout the state continued stabilizing.

In the first three months of the year, Utah REALTORS sold 5,543 single family homes and condominiums compared to 4,618 sales during the same time in 2009, according to a new report from the Utah Association of REALTORS.

The numbers were a sharp improvement from last year when statewide home sales were at a 10-year low. The federal home buyer tax credit, which is now expired, likely played a key role in boosting sales and restoring confidence in the market.

“The tax credit has done it’s work,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of REALTORS, in releasing the national organization’s first quarter data. “The tax credit has been very effective in drawing down excess inventory, with about one million additional sales resulting directly from the stimulus.”

In Saint George, where housing has been particularly hard-hit, home sales are at their highest level in two years. Compared to last year’s first quarter, single family home sales rose nearly 46 percent, and condo sales increased by more than 52 percent. Also, faring well was Park City, which had a nearly 68 percent increase in single-family home sales and a 120 percent rise in condo sales.

Other areas, including Box Elder, Iron, Juab, Morgan, Salt Lake, Tooele, Utah, and Wasatch counties, saw double-digit increases in single-family home sales.