The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that the seasonally adjusted annual rate of existing home sales in September jumped 2.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.17 million from an unrevised total of 5.05 million in August.

Sales were down 1.7% year-over-year for the month. The good news is that September sales are at the highest pace for all of 2014 so far.

The consensus estimate called for sales to reach 5.10 million, according to a survey of economists polled by Bloomberg.

Housing inventory declined 1.3% in September, to 2.30 million homes, which is equal to a supply of 5.3 months, down from a 5.5-month supply in August, and down from last month’s total of 2.31 million homes. Unsold inventory is up 6% compared with September 2013, when there were 2.17 million existing homes for sale.

According to the NAR, the national median existing home price in September was $209,700, down about 4.5% sequentially and up 5.6% compared with September 2013. Last month marked the 31st consecutive month of rising home prices.

NAR’s chief economist said:

Low interest rates and price gains holding steady led to September’s healthy increase, even with investor activity remaining on par with last month’s marked decline. Traditional buyers are entering a less competitive market with fewer investors searching for available homes, but may also face a slight decline in choices due to the fact that inventory generally falls heading into the winter.

Sales of single-family homes rose 2% from August at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.56 million, down 1.9% compared with September a year ago. Sales of multifamily homes were flat year-over-year at an annual rate of 610,000.

Foreclosed and short sales accounted for 10% of September sales, up from 8% in August and down 14% compared with September 2013. Foreclosures sold at an average 14% discount to the September median price, and short sales also sold at a discount of 14%.

Existing, non-distressed homes were on the market for an average of 56 days, higher than the August figure of 53 days and higher than the 50 days it took to sell a house in September of 2013. Foreclosed homes were on the market for an average of 59 days and short sales took a median of 116 days to sell.

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