Austin Home Inventory Drops While Mid-Year Reports of Sales Show a Healthy Increase.

The Austin housing market posted the largest number of home sales on record last month, the Austin Board of Realtors reported Tuesday.

Some 3,135 single-family homes were sold in July, a 35 percent jump from the same month in 2012, and homes spent an average of 41 days on the market, 23 days less from July last year.

ABoR Chairman Cathy Coneway attributes the strong numbers to Austin's job growth and the increase in mortgage rates that may have encouraged buyers to act.

"As home builder's work to meet demand we can expect home prices to steadily increase, which could price many out of the area," Coneway said in a news release.

The median price for a home in the Austin area rose 8 percent in July to $228,250, and the market had 2.8 months of inventory last month - 1.5 months less than July in 2012.

More statistics for the Austin home market in July are listed below:

• 3,523: the number of new single-family home listings on the market, a 22 percent increase
• 6,104: active single-family homes on the market, a 20 percent decrease
• 2,773: pending sales of single-family homes, 20 percent rise
• $933.2 million: total dollar volume of homes sold, a 43 percent jump

In terms of condominiums and leasing activity in July, ABoR reports 361 condos were purchased, a 31 percent rise over July 2012 numbers, and 2,103 properties were leased in July, a 9 percent increase.