Home sales are continuing to rise across the Charlotte region, with closings up 17 percent in August over a year earlier. Sales prices also continued to rise last month, but not as fast as some Lake Norman area sellers would like, said Gina Mayes Harris of Mayes Harris Realty in Davidson.

Residential closings in August 2013 totaled 3,392, up from 2,900 for the same period last year, according to Carolina Multiple Listing Services Inc. data. That’s up 17 percent from Aug. 2012.

Both the median and average sales prices rose in August, marking 21 consecutive months of price gains, the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association said. The median sales price across the Charlotte region was $182,500, up 12 percent over August 2012 ($163,000). The average sales price ($237,635) was up 11.1 percent over August 2012 ($213,846), according to the listing service.

New residential listings totaled 4,530, a 16.5 percent increase over August 2012. Inventory declined 13.7 percent compared to August 2012, leaving the CarolinaMLS region with 5.4-months’ supply of homes for sale.

“With the double-digit increases we’ve seen in new listings over the past few months, sellers are definitely back in the market, which will improve inventory,” said Eric Locher, president of the Realtor Association and CarolinaMLS. “An improved inventory along with the slight increase in mortgage rates should be a strong incentive to keep buyers in the market.”

Gina Mayes Harris, of Mayes Harris Realty, said she thinks for now it’s still a good market for buyers, and that some sellers still have “unrealistic expectations” for prices.

“The market is fantastic,” she said. But she added, “I think we are in untraveled waters because the money’s available to be borrowed, but the values are not there (for sellers). Sales are way up, but the appraised values are not way up.”

She said while inventory is relatively low, “we’re still in a buyer’s market.”

The average number of days a property was on the market from the time it was listed until it closed (list to close) was 134 days, which is a decrease of nine days compared to August 2012. Days on market, the metric that accrues for “Active” and “Under Contract-Show” statuses only, totaled 96 days compared to 104 days for the same period last year.

In another positive sign, foreclosures and short sales continued to decline across the region, accounting for 7.3 percent of new listings and 9.2 percent of all closed sales in August, according to the Realtor association.

For more residential-housing market statistics, visit www.CarolinaHome.com and click on “Market Data.”