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Charlotte-area home sales jumped in August, though selling prices remained weak, new data from the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association show.
About 2,290 houses, townhouses and condos sold in the Charlotte region last month, up 5 percent from the month before and up nearly 26 percent from August 2010, according to the report released Wednesday.
Meanwhile, pending sales - signed contracts that haven't yet closed, a good measure of current housing activity - climbed 8 percent from July and 25 percent from the August 2010 level. The data come from the Realtor association's Carolina Multiple Listing Services, which accounts for nearly all sales in the Charlotte area.
Home sales have improved in part because foreclosures and short sales are beginning to be absorbed: The Charlotte market's distressed housing inventory continued to decrease in August, with the number of foreclosures for sale at its lowest level in more than three years, the report found.
Distressed sales represented about 23 percent of all closings in August, down from 35 percent in August 2010.
Despite the improvement, though, home prices remain weak, a sign of continued challenges related to foreclosures, tight lending and lingering economic uncertainty.
The average selling price in the Charlotte region in August was $205,915, down 4 percent from the month before and down 9 percent from August 2010, the MLS data show.
