Home-sale agreements in the nine-county area fell 23 percent in August when compared to the same month a year earlier, according to a report released Thursday by F.C. Tucker Co.

Pending home sales dropped last month to 1,790, down from 2,327 in August 2009, the Indianapolis-based real estate company said.

The decline marked the fourth straight month that home sales have slumped in central Indiana following three straight months of improving sales activity spurred by generous federal tax credits.

Pending sales were down 27 percent in July, 30 percent in June and 32 percent in May.

Pending home sales account for sales agreements, not sales that have closed. Year-to-date, sales agreements are off 4.5 percent from the same eight months of 2009, the report said.

In Marion County, August sales agreements fell 23.9 percent compared to the previous year, from 1,124 to 855. Pending sales dropped 29.7 percent in Hamilton County, from 462 to 325, and 20.5 percent in Hendricks County, from 195 to 155.

Madison County is the only county in the region to record an increase in sales, with 117 in August, 14 more deals than a year ago.

On a positive note, the average price of homes sold in the area in August was up 8.9 percent, from $137,888 in August 2009 to $150,113 last month. Prices were up 7.6 percent in Hamilton County, to $243,482, and 12.1 percent in Marion County, to $114,919.

Home inventory was up 6.3 percent in August from a year ago, with 17,225 homes listed in the nine-county area.