Having dropped 1.7 percent in November, the seasonally adjusted pace of existing-home sales across the U.S. rebounded 3.6 percent in December to an annual rate of 5.54 million sales, which was 10.8 percent above its mark at the end of 2018, according to the National Association of Realtors.
At the same time, the inventory of existing homes on the market across the nation dropped 14.5 percent to 1.40 million homes, which is 8.5 percent lower than at the same time last year. And yet, somehow sales were up.
And out West, the pace of existing-home sales rebounded 4.6 percent in December to an annual rate of 1.14 million sales, which was 10.7 percent higher than in December of 2018.