US Home Sales

The National Association of Realtors said today that sales rose a tiny .4%  in January compared with December 2012, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.92 million. That was the second-highest sales pace since November 2009.

In December, sales declined to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.9 million from 4.96 million in November, according to revised figures released today. The December drop was linked, in part, to the tight supply of homes.

For all of 2012, sales rose to 4.66 million, according to revised estimates. That was 9.4% more than in 2011 and the most since 2007. But even with the gain, sales were below the 5.5 million that economists associate with a healthy market.

The National Association of Realtors report also showed that home sales rose in January in all parts of the country except the West. Here in the West, home sales actually fell 5.7%. Sales rose 4.8% in the Northeast, 3.6 % in the Midwest and 1% in the South.

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