New-home sales increase 4.4%
Sales of new single-family homes in November increased 4.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 377,000, according to government data released Thursday.
The pace of new-home sales is the highest since April 2010.
The figures from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development show that new-home sales are up 15.3% compared with the November 2011 estimate of 327,000.
Sales were particularly strong in the Northeast and the South, which saw year-over-year gains of 68.8% and 17.2%, respectively. Among the four regions of the country, the South also had the highest month-over-month increase -- 21.1%.
The median sales price of new houses sold in November 2012 was $246,200; the average sales price was $299,700.
The report follows by one day the release of the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home prices index, which showed home prices rose 4.3% in the 12 months ending in October.