Sales of single-family homes in Connecticut dropped 18.5 percent in May from the previous year, but real estate agents both locally and across the state say there are signs that home-buying activity is on the rise.

Single-family home sales fell to 1,865 in May from 2,289 in May 2008, according to The Warren Group of Boston, a company that publishes The Commercial Record and other real estate publications.

Over the first five months of the year, 6,945 single-family homes were sold in the state, 24 percent fewer than the 9,157 homes sold over the first five months of 2008, the company said.

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