1. Home prices: The median existing-home price for all housing types was $234,000 in July - 5.6 percent above a year ago. "Despite the strong growth in sales since this spring, declining affordability could begin to slowly dampen demand," says Yun. "REALTORS® in some markets reported slower foot traffic in July in part because of low inventory and concerns about the continued rise in home prices without commensurate income gains."

2. Housing inventories: At the end of July, the inventory of homes for-sale fell 0.4 percent to 2.24 million existing homes available for sale. The inventory now is 4.7 percent lower than a year ago and at a 4.8-month supply at the current sales pace.

3. First-time home buyers: The percentage of first-time home buyers fell for the second consecutive month, reaching 28 percent in July - the lowest share since January. Last year at this time, first-time buyers comprised 29 percent of all buyers.

4. Days on the market: Properties stayed on the market for an average of 42 days in July, below the 48 days average from a year ago. Forty-three percent of homes were on the market for less than a month in July. Short sales were on the market the longest at a median of 135 days while foreclosures were on the market for 49 days and non-distressed homes sold in 41 days.

5. All-cash sales: The percentage of all-cash sales rose to 23 percent of transactions in July, down from 29 percent a year ago. The share of individual investors - who account for the bulk of cash sales - was 13 percent in July, down from 16 percent a year ago.

6. Distressed sales: The percentage of foreclosures and short sales declined to the lowest share since NAR began tracking it in October 2008. Distressed sales fell 7 percent in July month-over-month and are 9 percent below a year ago. In July, 5 percent of sales comprised foreclosures while 2 percent were short sales. On average, foreclosures sold for a discount of 17 percent below market value while short sales sold for an average discount of 12 percent.