RE/MAX reported huge sales increases in February, which bodes well for Chicago's housing market on the whole.

RE/MAX analysts are reporting great things for February home sales in Chicago.

Boosted by unseasonably warm weather and record-low mortgage rates, home sale stats for the seven-county area came in at 4,760 closed sales for the real estate company, a 26 percent increase from February 2011 and a 6 percent increase from January 2012.

According to additional analysis compiled by Midwest Real Estate Data, LLC, 52.5 of RE/MAX’s sales for the month involved distressed properties, a 1 percent increase from January. The composition of those distressed sales also changed, with short sales accounting for 18 percent of sales (up from January’s 14 percent) and foreclosures accounting for 35 percent (down from 37 percent).

On a county-by-county basis, sales differed radically. Kendall County sales were up by 75 percent, while McHenry sales were up by 46 percent, and sales in Lake, DuPage and Cook were up by respective amounts of 33, 31 and 20 percent. Sales in Chicago, actually, were the lowest of the bunch at 13 percent. Though most of the counties median sale price was down (altogether, the median price of $136,000 was 11 percent lower than February 2011), the median price in Kendall was up by 4 percent.

There was also an interesting difference between detached and attached sales. Detached home sales were 22 percent higher year-over-year, but attached homes had the strongest performance of all home types for the month, rising 32 percent from last February and rising monthly by 11 percent. What was consistent, though, was Kendall County’s superlative data – it lead the way for both housing types, with a 59 percent increase in detached home sales and an incredible 126 percent increase for attached homes.