WASHINGTON - New home sales plunged in November falling 11.3%, a larger drop than economists estimated and the largest monthly decline since January, revealing a disconnect between existing and new home sales, the Commerce Department reported today.
Buyers purchased new homes at a 355,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in November following a 400,000 rate in October, revised down from 430,000 initially reported.
Economists expected 440,000 new home sales in November, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters.
Existing home sales jumped 7.4% in November with 6.54 million sales, the National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday.
New home sales declined in every region except the Midwest where sales increased 21.4%.
The number of new homes for sale fell to 235,000, the lowest figure since April 1971. New homes available fell 36.5% from a year ago. The months supply of new homes increased for the first time in six months to 7.9 from 7.2 in October.
Median price increased 3.8% to $217,400 in November from $209,400 October and was 1.9% below the median price a year ago.
