Today the Freelance Star published a story about last month's home sales in the Fredericksburg area. The highlights are welcomed news for homeowners.

-  Total of 2,437 homes were listed on the market at the end of July, the lowest amount since January 2006.

-  With last month's sales pace, there was about a six-month supply of homes on the market, considered a healthy balance between supply and demand.

-  On average, homes were on the market for 94 days before selling, the lowest since September 2006.

-  The average sales price last month was an 8.7 percent discount from the average list price, the lowest percentage since August 2007.

-  Conventional bank financing made somewhat of a comeback, with those loans used to finance 29 percent of the July sales. That's up from 19.5 percent in June, and a possible sign that banks are getting more willing to lend.

"More homes were sold in the Fredericksburg area last month than any July since 2006, but the market continues to be dominated by distressed sales of lower-priced homes.

There were 403 homes sold last month in the Fredericksburg and Stafford, Spotsylvania, Caroline and King George counties through the Multiple Listing Service, according to data released yesterday by Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc. That was down from the past two months but 16.5 percent better than last July.

Of those 403 sales, 155 were foreclosures and 72 short sales, meaning distressed sales made up 56.3 percent of the total."

Read full story.