The national median existing-home pricefor all housing types was $187,400 in August, up +9.5% from a year ago. The last time there were six back-to-back monthly price increases from a year earlier was from December 2005 to May 2006. The August increase was the strongest since January 2006 when the median price rose +10.2% from a year earlier.

Distressed homes- foreclosures and short sales sold at deep discounts - accounted for 22% of August sales (12% foreclosures and 10% short sales), down from 24% in July and 31% in August 2011. Foreclosures sold for an average discount of 19% below market value in August, while short sales were discounted 13%.

Total housing inventory at the end August rose +2.9% to 2.47 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 6.1-month supplyat the current sales pace in August, down from a 6.4-month supply in July. Listed inventory is 18.2% below a year ago when there was an 8.2-month supply.

The median time on market was 70 days in August, consistent with 69 days in July but down 23.9% from 92 days in August 2011. Thirty-two% of homes sold in August were on the market for less than a month!, while 19% were on the market for six months or longer."