The supply of available properties on the housing market dropped close to a 7-year low as sales of previously owned homes rose to an 11-month high this past December pointing to a small pulse of recovery for the housing market.
According to the National Association of Realtors, existing home sales rose 5 percent month over month in 2011 to an annual rate of 4.61 million units.
Overall, home sales in 2011 showed gains over 2010 totals. A total of 4.26 million homes were sold in 2011 which is up 1.7 percent from 2010.
These stats along with three straight months of gains in home sales have added a glimmer of hope that a recovery could begin in the housing market; however its progress will be very slow given the amount of unsold properties that are weighing down on home prices.