Existing home sales increased 1% in December, the first rise in four months, the National Association of Realtors said Jan. 23.
Sales rose to an annual rate of 4.87 million. The December level was lower than economists鈥 median forecast of 4.93 million, Bloomberg News reported.
鈥淗ousing is on the mend,鈥 Anika Khan, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities, told Bloomberg. 鈥淚t鈥檚 had a few negative factors to impact it and some slowdown activity, but that鈥檚 to be expected, especially this time of year.鈥
Sales rose in two of the four regions. The West was highest with a 4.8% rise, followed by 3.6% in the South.
For the full year, purchases increased 9.1% to 5.09 million, Bloomberg reported.
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