U.S. home sales rise 15.7 percent: report

National home sales rose 15.7 percent year-over-year in November, the second-highest annual increase in 2012, according to a new report from RE/MAX. That followed a 17.8 percent year-over-year increase in October. In the same period, home prices rose 6.9 percent compared to November 2011. The average number of homes for sale is now 29.1 percent lower than in 2011. “2012 has been a great turnaround year for housing, with prices and sales moving beyond where we were last year,” said Margaret Kelly, CEO of RE/MAX. “We’re ending the way we started it, with better than expected performance.”— Alexander Britell