ORLANDO, Fla. - Jan. 25, 2010.  At the end of 2009, Florida's existing home and condo sales were higher than a year earlier, a continuing trend for statewide sales activity, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®.

Existing home sales rose 31 percent at year's end, with a total of 163,148 homes sold statewide compared to 124,168 homes sold at year end 2008, according to Florida Realtors. Existing home sales activity at the end of 2009 also was 25.6 percent higher than the 2007 statewide sales level, records show. Statewide sales of existing condos increased 47 percent at year end 2009 compared to year end 2008's sales figure; it was 33.7 percent higher than the year end 2007 statewide existing condo sales.