While the sluggish U.S. economy crept upward in 2012, the housing market improved at a much faster rate than anyone expected. Total home sales increased 6.3 percent in 2012, the largest increase since 2006. Overall, 4.2 million homes sold – inching closer to the average of 5.5 million a year the country experienced before the crash.
At the beginning of 2012, many experts thought the opposite would happen — with so many foreclosures on the books and properties still underwater, many anticipated home prices would fall or remain stagnant………………………………………..Full Article: Source