The
U.S. Commerce Department reported on Thursday that the sales of new
single-family homes soared 12.4 percent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted annual
rate of 744,000 units in November. This was the highest reading since April (796,000).
Economists
had forecast the sales pace of 770,000 last month.
The
October sales’ pace was revised down to 662,000 units from the initially
reported 745,000 units.
According
to the report, new home sales in the South, the largest area, rose 2.7 percent
m-o-m in November, while those in the West surged 53.2 percent m-o-m and in the
Northeast jumped 15.6 percent m-o-m. In the meantime, new home sales in the Midwest
tumbled 25.4 percent m-o-m last month.
The
report also revealed that median sales price climbed 18.8 percent y-o-y to $416,900,
while the average sales price surged 21.6 percent y-o-y to $481,700.
In
y-o-y terms, new home sales were down 14.0 percent in November.