National home sales show significant gains

The National Association of Realtors says home sales picked up significantly during the month of December, creating optimism among economists about the future of the housing market.

According to the NAR's monthly report, sales of existing homes rose by 12.3 percent in December compared to the previous month, rising to an annual rate of nearly 5.3 million. While that is 2.9 percent below the pace from December 2009, those numbers are distorted by the homebuyer tax credit.

"The pattern over the past six months is clearly showing a recovery," said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. "The December pace is near the volume we're expecting for 2011, so the market is getting much closer to an adequate, sustainable level."

Home prices remained relatively level, with the $169,300 median single-family price coming in just 0.2 percent below numbers from 12 months prior.

NAR data for the Houston real estate market actually shows a slower sales pace than the rest of the country, with sales down more than 7 percent from a year ago. However, at the same time, the data shows prices have also grown 6.3 percent.