The number of homes sold in California last month ticked up last month from August, as low mortgage rates and eagerness to cash in on a soon-to-expire tax credit fueled activity in a normally sluggish time for home buying, a tracking firm said Thursday.

San Diego-based MDA DataQuick said 40,216 homes were sold statewide in September, up 1 percent from 39,811 in August. Such gains are rare between August and September, with sales usually dropping an average of about 9 percent during the period, the firm said.

DataQuick President John Walsh said the healthy sales showed an improving market, but he cautioned that activity remained overly dependent on temporary incentives, such as the $8,000 tax credit for some first-time home buyers.

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