Annual new home sales jump 19.9 percent

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WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Sales of new single-family homes dropped November to December in 2012, but annual sales topped 2011 substantially, the U.S. Commerce Department said Friday.

In 2011, there was an estimated 306,000 new home sold. In 2012, sales came to 367,000, a 19.9 percent increase, the department said.

Sales in December declined from November, off 7.3 percent.

After rising in November, sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 369,000 from 398,000 in November, a rate revised sharply upward from 377,000, the number released last month.

Sales also remained ahead of the same month a year earlier. In December 2011, the annual sales rate was estimated at 339,000.

The Commerce Department said the average price for a new home sold in November was $248,900, down from $299,700 in November.

The seasonally adjusted estimate of how many new homes were on the market at the end of the month was 151,000, which represents a 4.9-month supply at the current rate of sales.