CHICAGO— The number of statewide home sales dipped again last month, but median prices also rose again, according to data from the Illinois Association of REALTORS®. Tight credit standards and lower inventory levels have made declining sales, at least on a year-over-year basis, and rising prices the norm for this year. August marks the 24th consecutive month of annual price gains.

Statewide home sales in August 2014 totaled 14,679 homes sold, down 10.4% from 16,384 in August 2013. In the nine-county metropolitan area, home sales last month totaled 10,370, down 13.3% from last year. And the city of Chicago saw a 15.3% year-over-year decrease in home sales in August with 2,414 sales, down from 2,850 in August 2013.

But a deeper look into the numbers shows that the decline in inventory was only a partial explanation for the slowdown. A decline in foreclosure sales has also contributed to the decline in overall sales, according to Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory of the University of Illinois. In fact, he tells GlobeSt.com, “regular sales are almost at last year's level. Last month, the decline in the number of foreclosure sales was particularly sharp.”

“The interesting irony is that while sales are decreasing, prices keep rising,” Hewings adds. The statewide median price in August was $175,000, up 6.1% from August 2013 when the median price was $165,000. In the Chicago metropolitan area the median price in August was $215,000, up 9.1% from August 2013. And in the city, the median price rose to $270,000, an annual increase of 10.2% since last year.

“August rounded out the typically hot summer market with a trend we've seen all year,” says Matt Farrell, president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and managing partner of Urban Real Estate. “Chicago buyers have fewer homes to choose from yet are finding their desired house in a shorter amount of time. Median home prices are flourishing as a result of these focused buyers presenting their best offer despite the low inventory.”

“A re-estimate of the foreclosure inventory suggests it will be another 12 to 15 months before this inventory returns to pre-recession levels,” Hewings says. He's not certain that getting those numbers back to normal will result in an increase in sales, however, “it certainly means these properties will act as a drag any longer.”

He considers it more important that job creation continue at a healthy pace. If it does over the next year, prospective buyers and sellers will have “a little more sense that the recovery will be sustained, and have enough optimism to enter the market.”

Still, in the near future, he says “modest increases in median prices are anticipated to continue.”