Housing in Uneven Recovery as Home Sales Decrease: Economy

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes slumped in November from a one-year high, underscoring the uneven nature of the current recovery in residential real estate that’s been one of its defining characteristics.

Purchases fell 6.1 percent to a 4.93 million annual rate last month, the weakest reading since May, from a 5.25 million pace in October, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed today in Washington. Demand dropped in all regions of the country, suggesting anomalies such as bad weather were not at play, the group said.