INDIANAPOLIS -- Home sales saw a 20 percent surge across central Indiana last month, and are expected to continue to rise, according to a new report.

Local realty business F.C. Tucker Company said 2,153 homes sold across the region in October, compared to 1,792 in October of last year, 6News' Renee Jameson reported.

The report found increased demand and less inventory brought more consumer confidence to the market.

"Housing is like a series of dominoes falling. You know, if one house sells, hopefully that seller buys, and it just keeps moving up," said Jim Litten, president of F.C. Tucker's Residential Real Estate Services Division.

He said the home sales hike could also mean more sales for area retail stores and other businesses.

"It affects the carpet companies, it affects the appliance manufacturers, it affects Lowes', the carpenters, the painters, the plumbers," Litten said. "So it has a tremendous ripple effect through the economy … I think you're going to see things start picking up."

Home sales are also expected to get a boost from the renewal of the federal first-time home buyer's tax credit, extended through April of 2010.

First-time home buyer Meg Christensen and her husband took advantage of the government's first-time home buyer tax credit when they purchased their house near Butler University on Indianapolis' north side.

"I wanted a fixer upper, but this helped talk my husband into it," he said. "He said, 'OK, we'll have cash to go to Lowes', that's fine.'"

First-time home buyers with adjusted cross incomes up to $125,000 for singles or $225,000 for married couples can get up to $8,000 with the tax credit.

Current homeowners can also qualify for a credit of $6,500 if they've lived in their primary residence for five concurrent years out of the past eight and meet the same income thresholds as first-time buyers.

More Information: Home Buyer Tax Credits Information