Existing Home Sales Rise

Bloomberg details:

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose for a third month in December to the highest level since January 2011, a sign the housing market ended last year with momentum.

Purchases increased 5 percent to a 4.61 million annual rate, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington. The pace was less than the 4.65 million median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The gain helped push down the inventory of homes for sale last month to the lowest level since 2005. Purchases in 2011 climbed 1.7 percent from a year earlier as prices fell.

Historically low mortgage rates and a pickup in employment may be giving Americans the confidence to purchase homes that have fallen in value. At the same time, another wave of foreclosures may inhibit a faster recovery in real estate as more distressed properties are put on the market.

Looking at the data, it appears sales are on the rise as prices are creeping lower (to a level where demand is finally meeting supply). My guess is the reason higher priced home sales are less is two-fold... they don't qualify for conforming loans and prices are being reduced (i.e. houses formally in the $500k-$750k "bucket" are now in the $250k-$500k bucket).

Source: Realtor.org