More people bought previously occupied homes in January, but sales surged on a rising number of foreclosures and all-cash deals.

The National Association of Realtors say sales of previously occupied homes rose slightly last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.36 million. That's up 2.7 percent from 5.22 million in December.

The pace is still far below the 6 million homes per year that economists say represents a healthy market.

Foreclosures represented 37 percent of sales in January. And all-cash transactions accounted for 32 percent of home sales - double the rate from two years ago when the trade group began tracking these deals. In places like Las Vegas and Miami, cash deals represented half of all sales.