Washington, DC, January 31--Sales of new single-family homes rose 0.1% in December, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.098 million, to close out the strongest year on record, according to the Commerce Department.
In November new home sales dropped 13.1%.
Economists were looking for an increase of 6.7% in December from a projected revised rate of 1.217 million in November.
For the year, new-home sales reached an unadjusted 1.183 million annual rate, 8.9% higher than 2003's 1.086 million. Average 30-year mortgage rates were relatively low throughout 2004 and have remained below 6% since July, according to Freddie Mac.
New-home demand was up in two of four regions in the U.S. during December, with sales rising 56% in the Midwest and 6.3% in the West. Demand fell 15.7% in the Northeast and 16.3% in the South.
The inventory of homes on the market rose in December to a 4.8 months' supply from November's 4.7 months' supply.
Average and median home prices were mixed in December. The average price was down to $276,600 from a revised $280,500 in November. But the median price was $222,000, up from a revised $219,000.
In December 2003 the average price was $253,900 and the median was $196,000. An estimated 72,000 homes were actually sold in December, down from 79,000 in November.
