10:02AM
Existing-home sales up 4% in November (by Ruth Mantell)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Existing-home sales rose 4% in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.42 million, the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday. Economists were looking for a gain from the prior month, echoing other recent positive housing data. The median price of homes in November fell 3.5% to $164,200 from the prior year. Housing inventory in November fell 5.8% to 2.58 million existing homes, a seven-month supply.

10:00AM
Existing-home sales downwardly revised 14% (by Ruth Mantell)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- An average of 14% fewer existing homes were sold annually between 2007 and 2010, according to revisions reported Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors, pointing to a housing market that was even weaker than previously believed. During the revision's time period, there were average annual sales of about 4.42 million existing homes, compared with prior estimates of about 5.16 million. NAR revised the data to correct for some sampling and data-reporting problems. Going forward NAR will annually re-benchmark data.