Home sales in the Chicago area have gone up, according to a new report by the Illinois Association of Realtors, as housing prices continue to fall.

In the nine-county area encompassed in the report, housing sales went up almost 24 percent in October 2011 compared to the previous year. There was a 15 percent decrease in costs between October 2011 and the prior year, with the median cost being $149,900 last month. In October 2010, the median cost was $177,000.