2012: Best Year for Homes Sales Since 2007

According to a industry trade group report from Tuesday, 2012 marked the best year for the U.S. real estate market since 2007. December 2012 came in just below November's sales for previously-owned homes. Almost 13 percent up from 2011.

As previously mentioned in other blogs, many of  the following factors have contributed to the above statistics -- near record low mortgage rates, lower unemployment and a rebound in home prices. This has brought a new wave of buyers into the market who had been waiting for it to hit bottom. The mortgage rates and years of depressed home priceshave also combined to create the most affordable housing market on record, according to the Realtors group.

Predictions are that these trends will continue well into 2013 and the following year. They also include another 5 million existing homes sales and almost 5.5 million the following.

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