Bay Area home sales continued to rise in September, driven by foreclosure sales and buyers eager to take advantage of a tax credit due to expire at the end of November, according to a report Thursday.

A total of 7,879 new and resale houses and condos sold in the nine-county Bay Area last month, up 8.4 percent from last year, according to MDA DataQuick, a La Jolla real estate information service. It marked the 13th straight increase in sales, on a year-over-year basis.

Sales rose even as the traditional summer homebuying season drew to a close. Normally, Bay Area sales decline 11 percent between August and September. But this year, sales rose 4.8 percent from August, bucking the historical trend, according to MDA DataQuick.

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