August proved to be a pretty good month for real estate sales in Issaquah and Sammamish, per the latest statistics from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

Pending sales were up in both communities, with condos up whopping 254.55 percent in Issaquah – 39 condos went under contract in August compared to 11 a year ago.

Overall, with single family and condos combined in Issaquah, pending sales were up 66.25 percent, with 133 contracts in August compared to 80 a year ago in August. In Sammamish, pending sales jumped 27.78 percent from 162 a year ago, to 207 contracts last month.

Inventory is down as well. There are 468 total listings in Issaquah compared to 581 a year ago. Of those, 143 were new listings last month. In Sammamish, there are 881 active listings compared to 1,096 a year ago. Of those listings, 220 were new last month.

The median price for single family/condos in Issaquah is $478,500 down 3.41 percent from $495,375 a year ago. In Sammamish, the median price fell 5.09 percent from $505,733 a year ago to $480,000 last month.

As far as closings in Issaquah, with residential and condos combined, there were 118 closings last month compared to 80 in August 2010, reflecting a 47.5 percent increase. In Sammamish closings were up 17.78 percent with 159 closings last month compared to 135 a year ago.

It would appear that the biggest bang for your buck in both communities is in the condo market, with the median price at $169,950 in Issaquah and $208,000 in Sammamish.

Andrew Weiffenbach, broker/owner of Re/Max Exemplary in Sammamish said they actually outperformed last year in the city of Sammamish, from May through August.

“The market was actually doing well until all of this problem in Europe came up,” Weiffenbach said. “If Europe didn’t happen, we would have seen appreciation in Sammamish. The market reacted so emotionally, When the news hit, I saw showings drop off.”

In Sammamish, he said there are only a small number of distressed properties, but there is also a great deal of downsizing which he attributes to people making smart choices.

“A lot of mature families are downsizing a little earlier than usual, they’re making conservative decisions,” he said.

Weiffenbach said Sammamish single family home prices hover around roughly $200 per square foot.

The NWMLS reported that August’s volume of pending sales was the highest number of mutually accepted offers since April of 2010 when the homebuyer tax incentive expired. NWMLS members added 9,128 new listings to inventory last month, the fewest since February.