Even though home sales increased nearly 3.1 percent in July, the number of unsold properties hit an all-time high, CNNMoney.com reported.

Forecasts for July sales estimated an increase of only 1.6 percent, according to economists surveyed by Thomson/IFR. However, July sales beat those expectations as buyers scurried to buy inexpensive homes.

The median price for a home sold in July decreased to $212,000, down 7.1 percent from a year ago, and total home sales were 13.2 percent lower than last year.

But despite the third monthly sales jump this year, the number of unsold homes and condominiums has skyrocketed to more than 4.6 million, the highest number since 1968.

Every region in the United States had a home-buying surge, except the South, which actually posted a 0.5 percent decline in home sales for July. The Midwest sales increase was lower than the national average, at only 0.9 percent in July, and the West experienced the largest increase in July home sales at 9.7 percent. The Northeast experienced a 5.9 increase for home sales in July.