Home sales might be down in the Fredericksburg area, but houses are selling more quickly, according to The Free-Lance Star.

Bargain hunters looking for a great deal, and first time home buyers taking advantage of the $8,000 federal tax credit are helping to move houses off the market. This happened in other places in Virginia, and was followed by an increase in home prices after a a few months.

This is good news for all homeowners in the area and a sign that home values may soon be on the rise.

"Home sales are down, and the median price keeps falling, but at least houses are selling more quickly.

Sales fell slightly in August from the previous month in the Fredericksburg area, from 403 to 381, according to data released yesterday by Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc. However, the time homes are on the market has gone down markedly.

In the area (Fredericksburg and Stafford, Spotsylvania, Caroline and King George counties), 195 homes that sold last month through the Multiple Listing Service had been on the market 30 days or less, slightly more than 50 percent of the total. A year ago, only 83 of 353 homes sold in 30 days or less (23.5 percent).

Ernie Dill, Realtor with Coldwell Banker ELITE, said the main reason for quicker sales is "the feeding frenzy among first-time home buyers."

First-time buyers have until Nov. 30 to take advantage of the $8,000 federal tax credit instituted to give the ailing real estate market some relief.

The median sales price continues to fall, however. In August of 2006, the median sales price was $329,000. A year ago, it was $249,900. In July, it was $210,000. Last month, the median fell to $197,520, about 21 percent lower than it was a year ago. That was lowest figure for August since 2002, when the median was $175,000 as the housing boom was starting to take off."

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