WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Existing-home sales rose in April to hit the highest rate since November 2009, pointing to an ongoing recovery supported by low interest rates and pent-up demand, according to data released Wednesday.

Existing-home sales rose 0.6% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.97 million, according to the National Association of Realtors.

A sale-pending sign is posted in front of a home on March 27, 2013 in San Anselmo, California. Getty Images

Sales of existing homes in April were 9.7% higher than during the same period in the prior year.

Pent-up demand is supporting sales, but tight credit standards and inventories are holding back gains, NAR said. There are also headwinds remaining from high unemployment, though the economy is adding jobs.

“Unless the regular turnover increases more aggressively, existing-home-sales growth could flatten out somewhat this year,” wrote Yelena Shulyatyeva, an economist at BNP Paribas.

Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected the pace of existing-home sales to hit a rate of 5 million in April, compared with a prior estimate of a 4.92 million rate in March. On Wednesday, NAR revised March’s rate to 4.94 million.

Meanwhile, median prices hit $192,800 in April, the highest since 2008, up 11% from the same period in the prior year, with low inventory supporting prices.

“Both first-time buyer and investor buying trends have remained steady over the past six months, suggesting that the recent rebound in home prices has not yet become an issue for buyers,” according to a research note from Gennadiy Goldberg, U.S. strategist with TD Securities.

Inventories rose 11.9% in April to 2.16 million existing homes for sale. April tends to have the highest inventories of the year. The supply rose to 5.2 months in April from 4.7 months in March.

Distressed-property sales fell to 18% of all transactions in April, the lowest since data collection began in 2008.

“We anticipate that this will continue to fall based on the pipeline of distressed mortgages,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.

Elsewhere Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke hinted to U.S. lawmakers that the central bank could slow its asset-purchase program in the next few months. The Fed’s “highly accommodative monetary policy” has been supporting the housing market, he said.

“Low real interest rates have helped support spending on durable goods, such as automobiles, and also contributed significantly to the recovery in housing sales, construction, and prices,” Bernanke said.

“Higher prices of houses and other assets, in turn, have increased household wealth and consumer confidence, spurring consumer spending and contributing to gains in production and employment.”