New home sales exceeded economist expectations in December, but remained well below their historical norm as they jumped 17.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 329,000, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters expected 300,000 new home sales in December.
The monthly index has produced an average rate of 678,480 since record-keeping began in 1963 — 52% more than the new home sales pace in December. New home sales remain locked in an unprecedented slowdown, which produced the lowest monthly level ever recorded in August — an annual rate of 274,000.
New home sales for November were revised downward to 280,000 from the 290,000 level reported last month.
December purchase activity was strongest in the West, where new homes sales surged 71.9% to an annual rate of 110,000. Sales in the South and Midwest rose by 1.8% and 3.2%, respectively, while Northeast purchases declined 5%.
The median price for new homes rose 12.1% in December to a 32-month high of $241,500 that represents the highest median price since April 2008 and an 8.5% gain during all of 2010. The quicker sales pace drove down the inventory of new homes for sale to 6.9 months of supply, the lowest level since April.
An estimated 321,000 new homes were sold in 2010, making it the weakest year on record. There were 375,000 new home sales in 2009. The $221,000 median sales price in 2010 was $11,000 less than in 2009.
