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Pending and closed residential real estate sales were up in year-over-year and month-over-month figures in April, and residential building permits were also up significantly from 2011.

According to the Regional Multiple Listings Service, the number of pending sales in April for the Portland-metro area was higher than any month since August of 2007; this is with the exception of March and April 2010, which were impacted by the deadline for the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit. Pending sales rose 18 percent over 2011 and 4.1 percent over March to 2,365 accepted offers. Closed sales also rose 13.1 percent from a year ago and 7.6 percent from March to 1,694 sales.

New consumer interest in residential real estate might also be fueling an increase in residential construction.

According to a report today from the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of building permits for privately owned housing units increased 23.7 percent from 2011 to 715,000 permits nationally. However, that number was 7 percent below March’s 769,000 permits.

Still, housing starts were up in April. Privately owned housing starts in April jumped 29.9 percent from 2011 and 2.6 percent from March to 717,000 projects. Housing completions were also on the rise in yearly and monthly figures.

According to RMLS, there was a less than 1 percent change in median ($216,000) and average ($254,600) sales prices from a year ago.