The U.S.
Commerce Department announced on Monday that the sales of new single-family
homes jumped by 3.6 per cent m-o-m, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 698,000
units in December 2024. This was the highest reading since September 2024 (726,000).
Economists
had predicted a sales pace of 670,000 last month.
The December sales
pace was revised upwardly to 674,000 units from the originally reported 664,000 units.
According to
the report, new home sales in the South, the largest area, fell by 2.1 per cent
m-o-m in December to 423,000. In addition, new home sales in the Midwest declined by 3.3 per
cent m-o-m to 87,000. Meanwhile, new home sales in the Northeast surged by 41.7
per cent m-o-m to 34,000 and those in the West climbed by 20.3 per cent m-o-m to 154,000.
Compared to December
2023, new home sales increased by 6.7 per cent.
The report also
revealed that the median sales price rose by 2.1 per cent y-o-y to $427,000 in December,
while the average sales price soared by 4.2 per cent y-o-y to $513,600.