Since last fall, home sales have held relatively steady near an annualized rate of 5 million a year -- about 1 million fewer than during the go-go years of the real estate boom.

The National Association of Realtors' most recent report shows that:

The seasonally adjusted annualized selling rate for all homes -- including single-family houses, town homes, condominiums and co-ops -- was 5.00 million in July. That's up from 4.86 million in June but 13.2% below the 5.76-million-unit pace in July 2007.

The median sales price for all housing types was $212,400 in July, down 7.1% from July 2007, when the median price was $228,600.

Find out more about how home prices are changing in more than 140 cities across the country.

There were 4.67 million homes on the market at the end of July, up 3.9% from 4.49 million at the end of June.

That's far more than usual -- a key advantage for most buyers. It would take 11.2 months to move all the homes on the market at May's sales rate.

Whether you're buying a home or refinancing an existing mortgage, we have a mortgage calculator that can help you make the right decisions.