Sales of new and existing homes in the Dayton area continued to grow in August compared to a year ago, local industry groups reported last week, but the expansions were slimmer than those recorded in July.

The Home Builders Association of Dayton said residential permits — a figure that includes condos, apartments and single-family homes — reached 130 in August, compared to 121 permits in August 2008, a 7.4 percent increase.

On the existing homes front, 1,011 homes changed hands in August, versus 1,007 homes sold during the same period a year ago, a gain of less than 1 percent, according to the Dayton Area Board of Realtors.

The board’s sales figures only include homes listed on the multiple listing service and not those sold by an owner or a builder. National home sales followed a similar trend, growing year over year, but slowing in August compared to July.

Larry Ryan, chief operating officer for Prudential One Realtors, earlier in the week said his agents are busier now than they were in the spring, with a federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers driving much of the activity. And steady sales are nothing to sneeze at.

“I think that flat’s the new up, isn’t it?” Ryan said. “You hear that in a lot of businesses.”

George Oberer Jr., president of the Oberer Cos., said his company saw “fairly decent” sales activity in August. Many of the units sold last month were from the company’s inventory of model and speculative homes, though sales also included a couple of new starts, he said.

Sales have slowed this month, Oberer said. Even in the best years, sales can slip in September as buyers focus on the start of a new school year. But the difficulty a move-up buyer faces in selling her existing home in the current market combined with fewer people moving to Dayton for jobs also have resulted in fewer transactions, he said.

However, he still believes anticipated growth at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the jobs expected to accompany that expansion will give the housing market a boost over the next year, he said.

“I’m optimistic that the next 12 months are going to be better than the last 12 months,” he said.

Staff writer Tim Tresslar covers commercial and residential real estate for Dayton Daily News. His Real Estate Notebook appears every Sunday. He can be reached at (937) 225-7317 or via e-mail at ttresslar@coxohio.com.