Sales of existing homes in 2012 up 9.2 percent

U.S. sales of previously occupied homes dipped in December from November, in part because of a limited supply of homes.

Still, sales rose last year to 4.65 million, a 9.2 percent increase from the previous year and most in five years.

Only 1.82 million homes were for sale at the end of December, the lowest in almost 12 years. That’s an 8.5 percent drop compared with November.