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Home prices rose at a faster clip in August than at any time this year as record low housing inventory kept buyers outnumbering sellers.

According to data from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, 4,397 single-family home sales closed across Massachusetts last month, at a median price of $600,000.

That represented a 6.2 percent gain over August 2022, beating out February’s 6 percent year-over-year gain and coming on the heels of five months of sub-5 percent year-over-year price gains and two months – April and May – where the monthly single-family median sale price even fell, albeit by less than 1 percent.

“The hits keep coming for prospective homebuyers in Massachusetts,” Cassidy Norton, media relations director of The Warren Group, said in a statement. “The shrinking single-family inventory continues to push prices to new highs. Couple this with the fact that interest rates are nearly double where they were a year ago, and the homebuying process is becoming more complicated – and expensive – for buyers.”

In June, when many of August’s closed single-family sales likely went under agreement, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors reported that the number of homes available for sale statewide had fallen by over 3,200 on a year-over-year basis, – a 41.3 percent drop.

In addition, some market observers have speculated that among those few Bay State residents who are able to afford the record-high mortgage rates and home prices, the shock effect of the highest mortgage rates in 20 years started to wear off this summer. Their willingness to bid more aggressively on homes despite mortgage interest rates near or above 7 percent may also be contributing to price jumps when layered on top of the inventory shortage.

The affordability picture was even worse for condominium buyers, who are most concentrated in Boston and its immediate neighbors.

The Warren Group data showed a 9.38 percent increase in the median condo sale price year-over-year in August, to $525,000. The Warren Group said 1,871 condos sold last month.

That price jump beat out January’s 9.2 percent increase and follows a pattern of acceleration starting in April, when the statewide monthly median condo sale price fell 2.83 percent year-on-year, and less than 1.5 percent price increases in May and June before a 6.53 percent jump in July.

MAR reported that June condo inventory was off 34.7 percent, at only 2,384 units for sale statewide.

“With fewer homes on the [Boston-area] market sellers are seizing the opportunity to ask for top dollar, and they’re frequently getting their price if the property is in excellent condition and a desirable location. For those looking to move up or trade down, the current period of low inventory and high prices is an opportunity to capitalize on the market’s strength,” Alison Socha, the 2023 Greater Boston Association of Realtors president, said in a statement.

Socha is a Realtor with Leading Edge in Melrose. GBAR’s territory covers much of Greater Boston, minus the North and South shores and the Merrimack Valley.

Still, she said, August’s pattern may not repeat itself as uncertainty has crept into the market.

“New listings have been slow to come online this summer and that’s caused inventory to become somewhat stale. Uncertainty about the economy is also creating some hesitancy among buyers. We are not only seeing fewer sales, but the number of offers is also down as many buyers play the waiting game. Some are holding out for more homes to be listed within their budget, while others are waiting for mortgage rates or prices to come down,” she said. “The lack of inventory along with today’s higher mortgage rates has not only handcuffed home buyers, its created indecision on the part of prospective sellers too. Many owners are opting to stay put rather than sell over concerns they’ll be unable to find a new place to live or have to pay a higher rate loan, and that’s keeping properties off the market.”