U.S. home resales rose slightly in December, a hopeful sign as the housing market recovery looks to pick up pace in 2015. The National Association of Realtors said on Friday existing home sales increased 2.4 percent to an annual rate of 5.04 million units last month. For all of 2014, existing home sales fell 3.1 percent to 4.93 million. The housing market has struggled to maintain momentum since stagnating in the second half of 2013 following a run-up in mortgage rates.