Across the U.S., sales of existing homes climbed in July to their highest level in five months, the National Association of Realtors said.

In the Midwest, existing-home sales rose 0.9 percent to an annual rate of 1.12 million in July, but are 17.0 percent lower than July 2007. The Midwest’s median price was $175,400, up 1 percent from a year ago, the Realtors group said.

Nationally, existing-home sales, which includes single-family, town homes, condominiums and co-ops, went up 3.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5 million units in July from a downwardly revised level of 4.85 million in June. But that is a drop from the 5.76 million-unit pace in July 2007.

Total housing inventory at the end of July was 4.67 million existing homes available for sale, which represents an 11.2.-month supply at the current sales pace, up from a 11.1-month supply in June. The rise in supply results from a sharp increase in condo inventory; the single family supply declined, according to the National Association of Realtors.

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage hit 6.43 percent in July up from 6.32 percent in June.

Tags: , home sales, inventory, median price, Midwest, mortgage rate