NEW YORK: US sales of new single-family homes surged 10.8 percent in December in a sign of strength in the economy, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.
New home sales rose to an annual pace of 544,000 units from the 491,000 unit pace of November.
December sales were also 9.9 percent higher than a year earlier.
The department said the median price of homes sold was $288,900, below the average for the year of $293,600 but up from $282,800 in 2014.
Demand for housing has been supported by the gains in household incomes from strong US job creation and by very low interest rates. But tight supplies in both the new home and the larger existing or used home markets have kept prices rising.
Existing home sales were also strong in December, up 7.7 percent from a year earlier, in part because of relatively modest weather across many parts of the country.
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