Pending house and condominium sales around Western Washington during August jumped nearly 21 percent from a year ago and inventory dropped more than 18 percent, according to new figures from Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

Members and brokers of the service say those indicators, along with signs of stabilizing prices, set the stage for brisk activity in the next few months as first-time buyers try to take advantage of the Nov. 30 deadline for tax credits, according to a NWMLS news release.

Brokers reported 7,539 pending sales (offers made and accepted but not yet closed) for August, up 20.7 percent from a year ago. That volume outgained July’s total by 260 transactions.

In the four-county Puget Sound region, pending sales of single family homes and condominiums surged 25.7 percent from a year ago.

Within King County, pending sales activity improved 25.1 percent from a year ago, and was especially robust in the north King County area, up 38.7 percent, and on the Eastside, up nearly 36 percent. Excluding condos, two sub-areas of King County notched gains of more than 40 percent for pending sales of single family homes – Southeast King County, up 40.4 percent, and the Eastside, up 42.5 percent, according to the news release.

For the 19 counties in the Northwest MLS service area, the median price for single-family homes and condominiums that sold and closed last month was $275,945, down about 8.8 percent from the year ago sales price of $302,500.

Prices for single-family homes (excluding condos) that sold throughout the NWMLS area are up about 3.3 percent since January, although down about 9.2 percent from 12 months ago. Condo prices remain depressed. For last month’s completed transactions, the median sales price was $235,000, off 5 percent from the year ago figure of $247,500. Compared to January’s sales, condo prices have dropped about 6 percent.