New single-family home sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 536,000 in December, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The December level was 10.4% below the revised November rate of 598,000 and 0.4% below the December 2015 level.
Sales fell in most regions, declining 41.0% in the Midwest, 12.6% in the South, and 1.3% in the West. In contrast, sales in the Northeast rose 48.4%.
The median price of a new home was $322,500, up 4.3% from November. The average price was $384,000, a decrease of 5.1% from the previous month.
At the end of December there was an estimated supply of 5.8 months at the current sales rate, up from a 5.0 month supply in November.
Read the Census/HUD release.