San Antonio, Texas. From Pixabay.com. Used Under Creative Commons

Existing home sales might have dipped in December, but they grew overall in 2017 over 2016. December’s existing sales were down 3.6 percent from the previous month. However, the drop wasn’t enough to drag down the entire year, which finished with existing home sales ending 2017 at a pace of 5.51 million sales.

Last year’s existing home sales rate was the highest in 11 years. The job market, which continues to be strong, has helped. The unemployment rate in December was 4.1 percent and marked the 15th straight month the rate was below five percent. Economists consider five percent and below as an economy with full employment.

The strong sales also gave home prices a push in the right direction. The median existing home price was $246,800 in December, nearly 6 percent higher than the same time the previous year. Home prices have been on the upswing for 70 straight months, a sign that the economic downturn is in the real estate market’s rearview mirror.

New-home sales also finished the year with a drop but still ended on a positive note. Although the rate was 9.3 percent lower than November, December’s sales were more than 14 percent higher than December 2016, and 2017 sales were 8.3 percent above the previous year.

Across the country, several areas boasted big numbers for home sales last year. San Antonio, Texas, enjoyed a seventh straight year of besting the previous year’s sales. Also in Texas, buyers in Austin helped the city continue big years in real estate. The Austin-area saw 2,653 homes change hands in December, a jump of 12.6 percent from December 2016. The median sales price ended the year at an all-time high for the area of $362,000.

In Florida, existing home sales were up 2.6 percent last month over the same period a year earlier. The median sales price for existing homes was 8 percent higher than December 2016 at $244,185. Ohio was another state that had a great year for home sales. New and existing sales were up almost two percent from 2016, and the 2017 average sales price was $172,870, up more than 5 percent from a year ago.

Across the country, home sales were strong for the year. Will the trend hold into 2018? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.