Nationwide home sales up in December

Sales of existing homes nationwide increased in December, according to the National Association of Realtors. Sales rose 6.5 percent to an annual rate of 4.75 million units in December, up from 4.45 million in November. December’s sales were expected to fall to a pace of 4.4 million units, according to Thomson Reuters. For all of 2008, there were 4.9 million existing home sales, down more than 13 percent from 2007.