August home sales strong in Puget Sound region but median prices continue to sag

Home sales in King County continued to surge in August while median prices remained well below last year's level, according to statistics released today by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

Buyers closed on 1,609 single-family homes last month, the service said, a 5 percent increase over August 2008. It was the third consecutive monthly year-over-year increase.

But the median price of those houses was $375,000, down 11.6 percent from the same month last year. Industry insiders said that's because lower-priced houses constitute a larger share of sales now, in part because of first-time buyers attracted to the market by a $8,000 federal tax credit.

Pending house sales — offers that have been accepted by sellers but haven't yet closed — were up 31.5 percent from August 2008, continuing a trend that began in April. But there is growing skepticism about the significance of that number, because more sales are taking longer to close or aren't closing at all.

Single-family home sales also were up in Snohomish County, with 8 percent more closings in August than in August 2008. The median price was $299,950, down 11.8 percent year-over-year.

Condominium sales in King County remained stagnant, with 11.4 percent fewer closed sales in August than in the same month last year. The median sale price was $252,250, was down 5.9 percent.

Eric Pryne: 206-464-2231 or epryne@seattletimes.com