Existing Home Sales Show Surprising Jump in December

Sales of existing homes rose 6.5% in December to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 4.74 million homes, led by a big rebound in the West, according to a press release from the National Association of Realtors^® this a.m. The Western Region has experienced a 30% drop in median home prices since December 2007 -- and in December 2008 was rewarded with a 13.6% increase in units sold.

Nationally, existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – jumped 6.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.74 million units in December from a downwardly revised pace of 4.45 million homes in November. Sales were still 3.5 percent below the 4.91 million homes sold in December 2007.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors^®, said home prices continue to fall significantly. “It appears some buyers are taking advantage of much lower home prices,” he said. “...[T]he market is still far from normal balanced conditions. Buyers will continue to have an edge over sellers for the foreseeable future.”

About 45% of the transactions in December were considered distress sales, either a short sale or a home in foreclosure, according to NAR. Certainly in Flagstaff, many of the recent sales have been bank-owned properties that have passed through foreclosure and are now on the multiple-listing-service priced to sell as quickly as possible.