4Q Resales Rise at Near-Record Pace

Total existing-home sales -- including condominiums and co-operatives -- set the second-highest pace on record in the fourth quarter, rising in 40 states and the District of Columbia from the levels recorded a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors.The seasonally adjusted annual resales rate was 7.76 million units in the fourth quarter, up 7.3% from 7.24 million in the fourth quarter of 2003. (The record high of 7.80 million units was set in the second quarter of 2004, the NAR reported.) The biggest year-over-year gains were recorded in Arizona, where the resale rate was up 28.8%; North Carolina, up 25.4%; and Georgia, up 21.7%. The NAR can be found online at http://realtor.org.