Existing Home Sales Top 5M in 2013

Washington, DC, Jan. 23, 2014 -- Sales of existing homes rose 1% in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.87 million, according to the National Association of Realtors.

That pushed 2013's total sales to the highest level in seven years, 5.09 million, up 9.1% from the prior year.

NAR also revised November's sales rate down to 4.82 million from 4.9 million.

The median sales price of used homes hit $198,000 in December, up 9.9% from a year ago.

For all of last year the median sales price reached $197,100, up 11.5% from the prior year, the strongest increase since 2005.