Total existing-home sales—including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops—eased 0.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.22 million units in December from a level of 6.27 million in November. Sales were 7.9 percent lower than a 6.75 million-unit pace in December 2005.

There were 6.48 million existing-home sales in all of 2006, down 8.4 percent from a record 7.08 million in 2005. The second highest total was 6.78 million in 2004; NAR began tracking home sales in 1968.

“Despite all of the doom-and-gloom stories and dire predictions over the last year, 2006 was the third strongest year on record for existing-home sales,” David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, said. “It looks like we’re moving beyond the low for the housing cycle last fall, and buyers are responding to historically low interest rates and competitive pricing by home sellers. In addition, a tightening inventory of homes on the market is supporting prices.”

Total housing inventory levels fell 7.9 percent at the end of December to 3.51 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 6.8-month supply at the current sales pace—down from a 7.3-month supply in November.

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $222,000 in December, which is unchanged from December 2005. The median is a typical market price where half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less. For all of 2006, the median price was also $222,000, up 1.1 percent from a median of $219,600 in 2005.

Single-family home sales slipped 1.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.44 million in December from 5.51 million in November, and were 7.2 percent lower than the 5.86 million-unit pace in December 2005. In all of 2006, single-family sales declined 8.1 percent to 5.68 million, the third strongest total on record.

The median existing single-family home price was $221,600 in December, which was unchanged from a year ago. For all of 2006, the median single-family price was $222,000, up 1.4 percent from 2005.

Existing condominium and cooperative housing sales rose 2.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 777,000 units in December from an upwardly revised level of 761,000 in November. Last month’s sales activity was 12.2 percent lower than the 885,000-unit pace in December 2005. After setting 10 consecutive annual records, condo sales for all of 2006 fell 10.4 percent to 803,000 units, the third highest year on record.

The median existing condo price was $227,000 in December, which was 0.3 percent above a year ago. In all of 2006, the median condo price was $221,800, down 0.9 percent from 2005.

Regionally, existing-home sales in the Midwest rose 4.3 percent in December to a level of 1.47 million, but were 5.8 percent lower than December 2005. The median price in the Midwest was $167,000, which is 2.9 percent below a year ago.

Existing-home sales in the South increased 0.8 percent to an annual sales rate of 2.49 million in December, but were 7.1 percent below a year ago. The median price in the South was $182,000, unchanged from December 2005.

Existing-home sales in the Northeast declined 2.8 percent to a level of 1.04 million in December, and were 5.5 percent below December 2005. The median existing-home price in the Northeast was $283,000, up 3.7 percent from a year earlier.