November Home Sales Up 3.2%, High for Year : Economy: Falling mortgage rates spur purchases. West’s median price of $150,200 is nation’s highest.

Sales of existing homes, spurred by falling mortgage rates, rose 3.2% in November to their highest level this year, a real estate trade group reported today.

The National Assn. of Realtors said sales of existing single-family homes rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.59 million units last month, the fastest sales clip since last December.

The 3.2% October-to-November increase was the biggest percentage advance since a 4.5% rise in August. Sales in October had fallen a slight 1.1%.

John Tuccillo, the association’s chief economist, predicted that falling mortgage rates will boost home sales in coming months as buyers take advantage of favorable financing terms.

According to a survey by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., the national average for fixed-rate loans dipped to 9.69% last week, as rates continued to decline from their recent high of 10.22% in September.

The median price for homes sold in November edged up 0.4% to $93,000. While the Northeast had the most expensive median sales price in October, the West took the top spot in November with a price of $150,200. The Northeast was second with a median price of $145,800, followed by the South at $82,400 and the Midwest at $70,900.

The median is the point at which half the homes sold for more and half for less.

Many housing analysts said they have detected signs that sales are slowing in high-priced areas of the country such as the Northeast and West as potential buyers balk at the prices.

But Realtors President Norman Flynn said he does not believe doom-and-gloom scenarios predicting a coming housing recession because of the high prices.

“People who are predicting hard times for housing are not considering how much prices rose in high-cost areas over the past few years,” Flynn said, noting that the median resale price in the Northeast has climbed 85% in five years.

In November, the sales increase was led by a 9.2% jump in sales in the South, where homes were sold at an annual rate of 1.42 million units in November. Sales were up 3.2% in the West to an annual rate of 640,000 units. The Northeast posted a 1.7% rise to an annual rate of 590,000 units.

Sales in the Midwest were down 4% to an annual rate of 450,000 units.