The demand for homes remains healthy, the group said, with median prices jumping nearly 16 percent from a year ago to $358,000.
WASHINGTON — Sales of previously occupied homes fell in December for the first time in four months as many would-be buyers were frustrated by a lack of available houses, which fell to the lowest level in more than two decades. Existing home sales dropped 4.6 percent last month from November, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of nearly 6.2 million, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. The demand for homes remains healthy, the group said, with median prices jumping nearly 16 percent from a year ago to $358,000. Homes sold in an average of 19 days, slightly higher than in the summer but still quite rapid. Yet the number of houses for sale slumped to just 910,000 in December, the fewest since records began in 1999. “It’s very hard for sales to meaningfully grow when there’s just not that much available to buy,” said Kwame Donaldson, senior economist for real estate website Zillow. “Existing home sales fell back to earth in December after an unexpectedly strong autumn.
