Sales of new single-family homes plunged 14.7% to a 331,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in December, according to data released by the Commerce Department yesterday.
The December figure came after a downwardly revised 388,000 rate in November, a 4.4% drop originally reported as a 2.9% decrease to 407,000. Thomson Reuters’ poll of economists had predicted a 400,000 sales level for December.