The National Association of Realtors said Monday that sales of existing homes rose 6.5 percent to an annual rate of 4.74 million in December, from a downwardly revised pace of 4.45 million in November.  Buyers were taking advantage of dramatically lower prices.

The nationwide median sales price plunged to $175,400, down 15.3 percent from $207,000 a year ago. That was the lowest price since May 2003 and the biggest year-over-year drop on records going back to 1968.

The nationwide median sales price plunged to $175,400, down 15.3 percent from $207,000 a year ago. That was the lowest price since May 2003 and the biggest year-over-year drop on records going back to 1968.  But all of the news is not bad, nationwide foreclosure filings dropped 7 percent from October to November.

And another encouraging sign — the number of unsold homes on the market in last month fell nearly 12 percent to 3.68 million from 4.16 million.  At the current sales pace, it would take 9.3 months to sell all the properties, down from 11.2 months in November.

Are we starting to turn the corner in the Real Estate Market?