SEATTLE - Home sales in Western Washington dipped in July from the previous month and were off 26 percent from a year ago, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service said Wednesday. Sale prices were down about 8 percent from the year-ago period.

The listing service provides information on home and condo sales in 19 Washington counties, mostly in the western half of the state but also including Grant, Kittitas and Okanogan counties.

Pending sales - those signed but not yet completed - in July dropped nearly 2 percent from June and were off 26 percent from July 2007.

The median sales price for July's completed sales of single family homes and condos in the region was $310,000, down nearly 2 percent from $314,900 in June and about 8 percent from $337,500 a year ago.

Still, 10 counties reported price gains for July transactions compared with sales that closed in June.

In the four-county Puget Sound region, the median selling price for homes and condos combined was $340,070, up slightly from $340,000 in June.

At month's end, active listings in the entire area were up nearly 10 percent from the year-ago inventory.