U.S. Home Sales Down 6.4% Last Month

Home sales in the U.S. fell in December to the lowest leave in more than six years. The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday that sales of existing homes plunged 6.4 per cent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.99 million last month, the worst pace in almost three years. For all of 2018, sales of existing homes fell 3.1 per cent from a year ago to 5.34 million units, the weakest total since 2015.

The median sales price in December was $253,600, up just 2.9 per cent from last year. But there is a regional divide in price gains. The Northeast posted an 8.2 per cent jump in median home prices, and the South enjoyed a 2.5 per cent gain.