Existing Home Sales Rise for Third Month

Existing home sales rose 5% for a third straight increase in December, reaching the highest level since January, the National Association of Realtors said Friday.

The increase to an annual rate of 4.61 million homes was just below economists’ forecasts of a 4.65 million rate, Bloomberg reported.

The median price of existing homes slipped 2.5% from a year ago, to $164,500, while single-family home sales rose 4.6%.

Sales increased in three of four national regions, led by an 11% jump in the Northeast.