Existing home sales ended the year on a high note with an increase in December sales and median home prices up nearly 12% from a year ago.
Re/Max reported Wednesday afternoon that existing home sales rose 4.5% in December on a non-seasonally adjusted basis after a drop in November, which was blamed on the government shutdown, rising interest rates and seasonal factors.
The median price of a home sold in December was $185,400, up 12% from December 2012. Re/Max tracks sales in 52 metropolitan areas.
“It's great that improving market fundamentals continued through the normally slower winter months and we ended the year on a strong positive note,” says Re/Max chief executive Margaret Kelly.
The December Re/Max National Housing Report noted that the month's supply of homes for sale rose to 5.9 months, up from a 5.4-month's supply in November. An increase in inventory is generally a good sign.
But the Denver-based real estate company noted that the “national inventory situation remains tight.”
The National Association of Realtors releases their existing home sales report Thursday morning.
