Some in the mortgage and real estate industry say that conditions are improving for homebuyers who need so-called jumbo loans.

In Greater Boston, jumbo loans are those that exceed $523,750. The New York Times recently had a story quoting real estate and mortgage brokers who have seen a spike in jumbo loan activity because it’s getting easier for homebuyers to qualify and interest rates have dipped.

That could be good news for the Bay State’s high-end housing market. Already, I’ve been hearing whispers from local real estate agents saying that million-dollar-plus properties are moving at a quicker pace than they did. One reason could be that the jumbo loan market isn’t as tight as it was.

A total 154 single-family homes priced $1 million or higher were sold in the first two months of the year, which is up from 111 during the same period in 2009, according to statistics from The Warren Group.

Still, this year’s sale volume is 40 percent below the 257 homes that traded in that price range in January and February of 2005.