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IRVINE, CA—The median sales price of US single-family homes and condos in October was $193,000, up 2% from the previous month and up 16% from a year ago to the highest level since September 2008, a 73-month high, according to a report from RealtyTrac. In addition, investor share of single-family homes and condos nationally is also rising.

According to Daren Blomquist, VP of RealtyTrac, “This US recovery is largely being driven by investors, and, as the lower-priced, often distressed inventory most appealing to investors dries up in a given market, investor activity will slow down in that market and move to other markets with more ideal inventory available. This has created a ripple-effect recovery moving out from traditional investor hot spots such as Phoenix, Atlanta and many California markets and into markets such as Charlotte, NC; Columbus, OH; Dallas; and Oklahoma City.

Blomquist adds that more than 32% of all single-family homes and condos purchased so far in 2014 are non-owner occupied compared to 68% that are owner occupied. “That is the highest share of investor purchases since we began tracking in 2001.”

RealtyTrac also reports that 20 major metros reached new post-recession price peaks in 2013 or 2014, including Denver; Pittsburgh; Charlotte, NC; and Columbus, OH. The October median sales price—which included both distressed sales of homes in some stage of foreclosure and non-distressed sales—was up 37% from a trough of $141,000 in March 2012, but still 19% below the previous peak of $237,537 in August 2006.

In the Denver market, where median home prices reached a new post-recession peak in July, Phil Shell, managing broker of RE/MAX Alliance, says, “Home prices have risen substantially in the lower price ranges—generally under $400,000. That has led most underwater properties out of trouble. We are seeing a 'compression' in the market because we are experiencing record-low inventories. Prices on the low end are coming up, and while the high end is not necessarily coming down, it has flat-lined. So we are seeing prices compress in the middle. A homeowner wanting to move up in to the market at $550,000 or above will find substantial value and a terrific opportunity.”

Still, residential sales volume is expected to level off in November. As GlobeSt.com reported last week, existing home sales for the month are projected to fall between seasonally adjusted averages of 5.05 million and 5.46 million annual sales, as compared to October's higher-than-expected figure, according to