Dive Summary:

• The National Association of Realtors found that sales of existing homes – single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – popped up 7.8% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.82 million. That was 9.3% more than the year-ago figure.
• The price of homes of all types also rose last month, up 9.5% from August 2011 to $187,400. The increase marked the sixth month in a row that the median price was higher than the year-before figure, and that has not happened since a run from December 2005 to May 2006.
• In another bit of good news, the percentage of sales that involved distressed homes – foreclosures or short sales – was down from 24% in July to 22%. Fewer distressed sales means higher average prices.

From the release:

Existing-home sales continued to improve in August and the national median price rose on a year-over-year basis for the sixth straight month, according to the National Association of Realtors. ...