Chicago-area existing home sales jumped 34.7 percent during the second quarter, compared to a year ago. The median home price for the area dropped 2.5 percent from a year ago, to $196,000.

The Illinois Association of Realtors also reported Wednesday that the only Chicago-area county to report an increase in sales as well as the median price was Lake County, where sales rose 38.1 percent and the median price of $202,000 was a 3.6 percent gain over the comparable 2009 period.

Within the city of Chicago, sales of existing single-family homes and condos rose 32.8 percent during the quarter. The median price held steady from a year ago, at $230,000.

During the April through June period, the interest rate on a 30-year, fixed rate mortgage averaged 4.94 percent locally, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., compared with 5.03 percent in the first quarter and 5.07 percent a year ago.

“Chicago is seeing stabilization in the market,” said Genie Birch, president of the Chicago Association of Realtors.