New home sales jumped 17.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 329,000 in December as the median sale price rose and the months’ supply tumbled, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.
New home sales in November were revised lower to 280,000 from 290,000 reported last month. October sales were revised higher to 280,000 from 275,000.
New home sales in the West surged 71.9% to 110,000, the highest level since July 2008. Sales in the South and Midwest also increased by 1.8% and 3.2% respectively. Sales in the Northeast declined by 5.0%.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters expected 300,000 new home sales in December, according to the median estimate.
The median home price rose 12.1% in December to $241,500, the highest median price since April 2008. The median price increased 8.5% from December 2009.
The months’ supply of new homes for sale dropped to 6.9 months, the lowest level since April.
For all of 2010, there were an estimated 321,000 new homes sold, a record annual low on data going back to 1963. There were 375,000 new home sales in 2009. The median sales price in 2010 was $221,000, down from 232,000 in 2009.
