WASHINGTON — Existing home sales rose 1.0% to a seasonally adjusted 4.87 million-unit rate in December from a revised 4.82 million pace the previous month, the National Association of Realtors announced Thursday.
The November figure was originally reported as a 4.90 million unit rate. The December sales rate was weaker than the median estimate of economists polled by Thomson Reuters, who predicted a 4.95 million rate.
The rate is a 0.6% decrease from December 2012.
For all of 2013, there were 5.09 million existing home sales, the highest since 2006.
Sales decreased 1.5% in the Northeast and 4.3% in the Midwest, but increased 3.0% in the South and 4.8% in the West.
The median sales price stood at $198,000 in December, a 1.3% increase from the previous month and a 9.9% increase from a year ago. The median sales price for 2013 was $197,100.
Housing inventory levels fell 9.3% from the previous month to 1.86 million existing homes, representing a 4.6-month supply at the current pace. Inventory was up 1.6% from the December 2012 level.
