Home sales drop drastically in December

By MARKETWATCH

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WASHINGTON — Sales of U.S. existing homes plunged 16.7 percent in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.45 million from 6.54 million in November as a popular tax credit was set to expire, a national real estate trade group estimated Monday.

The 16.7 percent percentage decline from November to December was the largest on record, the National Association of Realtors reported. The decline was larger than the 11 percent drop to 5.80 million that was expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. Sales in December were up 15 percent compared with December 2008. The median sales price rose to $178,300 in December, up 1.5 percent compared with a year earlier. It’s the first year-over-year increase in prices since August 2007.

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