The housing market is still on shaky grounds, with home sales continually plunging. San Bernardino County, for one, is still feeling the effect of the homebuyer tax credit expiration. The median home price in the area, though, is slightly improving.

With the homebuyer tax credit ending last spring, home sales were expected to drop. In San Bernardino County, the drop was a bit steep at 23.3% decline from August of last year. MDA DataQuick’s analysis, released last Tuesday, shows a glimmer of hope as home prices increased slightly to a $158,000 median.

Santa Monica-based Milken Institute had something to say about the phenomena. Managing economist Kevin Klowden says, “A lot of it is still the legacy of a first-time homebuyer credit expiring. That propped up the market more than people expected.”

Though home buying is still affected by a high unemployment rate and the low confidence in the current job market, the drop in San Bernardino’s August home sales was not as big as the drop in June. The July drop in sales was 28% from 2009 and 19.6% from June.

Sold homes in the San Bernardino County for August was at 2,513. This is not too much of a decline from July’s 2,556 homes sold. Amidst the decline, home prices are still flexible in the past months going either way. For the region’s $158,000 median, there was a slight increase from July’s $155,000 – this is also 9% higher than last year’s.

According to Redlands-based regional John Husing, everybody should take it positively that home prices are still battling it out despite the decline in sales. The steady home purchase price can be equated to mean that home values are not eroding amidst the double-dip recession. People worried too much that post-June will be about a fall in prices, but that has not happened so far.

Retail sales have also risen in August by 0.4%, the biggest so far since March. This is according to a statement from the Commerce Department last Tuesday.