Sales of new single-family homes grew 10.8% to a 544,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in December, according to data released by the Commerce Department Wednesday.
The increase came after a revised 1.9% gain to a 491,000 rate in November, originally reported as a 4.6% increase to 490,000.
Thomson Reuters' poll of economists had predicted a 500,000 sales level for November.
Sales of new homes were 9.9% better than the 482,000 rate in December 2014, Commerce said.
The supply of new homes at the current sales rate fell to 5.2 months from 5.6 months.
At the end of December, the number of new homes on the market grew to 237,000 from 231,000.
The unadjusted average price of a new single-family home slumped to $346,400 from $364,200.
Meanwhile, the unadjusted median price fell to $288,900 from $297,000 in the previous month.
Sales increased in all four regions of the country in the month.
Sales in the Northeast were up 20.8% to 29,000 from 24,000 and sales in the Midwest surged 31.6% to 75,000 from 57,000, and sales in the South rose 0.4% to 273,000 from 272,000. Sales in the West soared 21.0% to 167,000 from 138,000.
