By Alan Zibel Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Sales of existing homes posted an unexpected increase last month, closing out the worst year for the U.S. real estate market in more than a decade.
The National Association of Realtors said Monday, Jan. 26, that sales of existing homes rose 6.5 percent to an annual rate of 4.74 million in December, from a downwardly revised pace of 4.45 million in November.
The results were better than expected. December's sales had been forecast to fall to a pace of 4.4 million units, according to Thomson Reuters.
Buyers were taking advantage of dramatically lower prices, especially in distressed markets like California, Florida and Nevada, where foreclosures have swamped the market.
In Ohio, sales of both existing and new homes rose 9 percent in December from the level seen in November, the Ohio Association of Realtors reported. The state's average sale price for 2008 was $136,700, down 8.6 percent from the 2007 average of $149,600, the trade group said.
The nationwide median sales price plunged to $175,400 in December, down 15.3 percent from $207,000 a year ago. That was the lowest price since May 2003 and the biggest year-over-year drop on records going back to 1968.
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