By Erin Carlyle | Forbes
Sales of previously-owned homes rose 2.4% in December as median home prices for the year overall finished at their highest level since 2007. Sales, however, slowed to a pace 3.1% below the annual rate for 2013.
Completed transactions of existing-homes (single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops) increased to an annual, seasonally adjusted rate of 5.04 million in December, the National Association of Realtors said Friday. That’s up 2.4% from November’s downwardly revised annual pace of 4.92 million. Compared to one year earlier, December’s figure is higher by 3.5%.
But the total number of existing-home sales for all of 2014–4.93 million–represents a drop from 2013′s annual 5.09 million. The slow in annual sales comes amid a rise in the price for previously-owned homes. In 2014 the national median existing-home price rose to $208,500, a 5.8% increase over 2013′s average ($197,1000) and the highest level since 2007, when the national median price hit $219,000.
