The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) reported a 7.6 percent increase in existing-home sales for the month of August, to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.13 million units anticipated in 2010. The increase was higher than many experts predicted, as real estate markets showed strong activity even without the home buyer tax credit. Regionally, the West showed the biggest increase in existing-home sales, with a jump of 13.8 percent. The Northeast followed with an increase of 7.9 percent, while the South and Midwest grew sales by 5.2 and 5.0 percent respectively.

Existing Home Sales By Region

NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun remains cautiously optimistic. "The housing market is trying to recover on its own power without the home buyer tax credit," he said. "Home values have shown stabilizing trends over the past year, even as the economy shed millions of jobs, because of the home buyer tax credit stimulus. Now that the economy is adding some jobs, the housing market needs to steadily improve and eventually stand on its own."

Freddie Mac reported that the average commitment rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 4.43 percent in August, a record low. The rate was 5.19 percent during this time last year. Total housing inventory fell slightly to 3.98 million units, representing an 11.6 month supply.

First time buyers accounted for 31 percent of the homes purchased during August. Investors also had a strong showing, accounting for 21 percent of the market, up from 19 percent the month before. Repeat buyers acounted for the remaining 48 percent of August home purchases.