Existing home sales close 2004 at record high
Tuesday, January 25, 2005 4:13:25 PM
afxpress.com
WASHINGTON (AFX) -- Sales of previously-owned homes fell more than expected in December but still closed the year at an all-time high for the fourth year in a row, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday
Existing home sales in the United States fell 3.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.69 million units in December from a revised 6.92 million in November
For all of 2004, sales rose 9.4 percent to a record 6.675 million, the fourth consecutive annual record. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast sales to fall to about 6.79 million units in December
"We look forward to continued healthy housing activity as we enter 2005," said David Lereah, chief economist for the NAR
The median sales price in December rose 8.1 percent to $188,900 from a year earlier. For all of 2004, the median sales price was $184,100, an 8.3 percent increase over the prior year, and the largest annual percentage gain in nearly a quarter century
Lereah said last year's price increase is not sustainable
"The supply of homes is way too lean relative to the demand for homes," Lereah said
Sales fell in the West and the South, while sales rose in the Northeast and the Midwest in December
In the West, sales dropped 7.2 percent, while sales in the South, the country's largest region, fell 4.2 percent. Sales rose 1.4 percent in both the Northeast and the Midwest regions.
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