Tampa Bay home sales rose 17 percent between August 2008 and August 2009, but slackened unexpectedly from their relatively brisk pace in July.

Area Realtors reported 2,370 sales in August, up from 2,029 a year earlier. The median sales price declined 17 percent the past year from $173,900 to $144,600.

Those totals were compiled from Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough counties. Hernando County Realtors didn't file their report on time and were left out of the calculation.

Including Hernando, Tampa Bay home sales in July were 2,822. The drop in the numbers of sales from July to August caught real estate agents off guard. For most of the past several years, sales held steady between those two summer months. (Hernando's sales are small so they don't swing the numbers that much)

The same sales dip was visible nationally. The National Association of Realtors said sales fell in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.1 million in August, 2.7 percent below July's 5.24 million. Sales had been expected to rise to an annual pace of 5.35 million, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

Lawrence Yun, the Realtors' chief economist, suggested the drop reflected tougher lending and appraisal standards.

Gainesville and Pensacola were the only two Florida metro areas where home sales fell year over year.