August record decline in home prices attracted buyers in some areas and made the inventory of unsold home drop according to the National Association of Realtors. The median sales price fell 9.5 percent to $203,100. This is the largest price drop on records since 1999. As prices fall, buyers are taking advantage of steep discounts, especially in hard-hit markets where price drop were enormous like California, Nevada and Florida.

The inventory of unsold homes fell 7 percent to 4.3 million, down from the all-time record of 4.6 million in July. That’s a 10.4-month supply at the current sales pace. According to the trade group’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun, he hopes the downward trend in inventories continues because, “home prices will not stabilize as long as inventories remain high.” Inventories have been driven higher by a massive wave of mortgage foreclosures, especially on risky loans.

Existing home sales fell in August to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.91 million units, down 2.2 percent from an upwardly revised pace of 5.02 million in July. Sales were down almost 11 percent from August last year. Without adjusting for seasonal factors, sales were down 15 percent from year-ago levels. While buyers are pouncing on lower prices — especially in places like California, Florida and Nevada — sales are sluggish in formerly stable markets like the Pacific Northwest and Charlotte, N.C., Yun said.

The rate of home sales fell from July to August in the Northeast and West, which posted 6.6 percent and 5.3 percent sales declines, respectively. Sales rose by less than 1 percent from July to August in both the Midwest and South.