The Greater Des Moines real estate market remained active in September, defying the traditional fall slowdown in sales, the Des Moines Area Association of Realtors said today.

“I believe there are a lot of first-time home buyers out there trying to get their deal done before the deadline for the $8,000 tax credit,” Kurt Schade, president of the association, said in a news release.

The average sale price dropped to $153,919 last month from $164,836 in August and $165,923 in September 2008.

Four homes with an asking price of more than $500,000 sold last month, down from 13 in August.

Though the number of contracts written dropped to 893 last month from 988 in August, the number of contracts closed increased to 881 from 775 in August. Homes sold in September had been on the market an average of 90 days.

The number of active listings dropped to 5,538 last month from 6,069 a year earlier.