Existing home sales "crazy good"

The National Association of Realtors reported another big gain in home sales in November as buyers raced to beat what was believed to be a deadline for the homebuyer tax credit on December 1st, the popular program having recently been extended through next spring.
It should be very interesting to see what this chart looks like in a few months, particularly if mortgage rates continue to rise. There will surely be a plunge in sales over the winter, what is normally a very slow time of the year for real estate purchases, but seasonal adjustments might make this winter's numbers look just as bad as it made the fall numbers look good given that so much demand has been drawn forward and there is now no urgency for anyone to buy a home, at least until the snow stops falling.