Shares of local home builders KB Home and Ryland Corp. recovered slightly on Monday after the National Association of Realtors said sales of existing U.S. homes inched up in November.

Sales of existing single-family homes, condominiums and townhouses rose 0.4 percent in November from October, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5 million units, the association said. Sales were strongest in the West, where they rose 10.3%.

Even so, existing home sales have slid 20 percent over the last 12 months. In addition, the median price of a home sold last month declined 3.3 percent to $210,200, the fifth biggest annual drop on record.

Shares of Los Angeles-based KB Home, which is scheduled to release fourth-quarter results on Jan. 8, were up 74 cents, or 3.5 percent, in midday trading. Calabasas-based Ryland Group Inc. rose 37 cents, or 1 percent, to $27.54.

On Friday, both companies fell after the U.S. Commerce Department reported that U.S. new-home sales dropped 9 percent in November in its worst showing in more than 12 years.