Robust home sales bring cheer to realtors

National home sales in December recorded a surge over the previous month, wrapping up 2014 with the second-highest sales volume in years.

Deducing from monthly aggregate data of the National Bureau of Statistics, home sales in December rose 41.7 percent by floor area from November. By value, sales rose 41.4 percent month-on-month.

These were extraordinary figures considering that in July, at the trough of the housing market, sales slumped 32 percent from June and the absolute sold volume was just 6.8 percent of the December figure.