By CountingPips.com
New home sales in the United States increased by slightly less than expected in the month of November, according to data released by the Department of Commerce today. Purchases of new single family homes rose to an annual rate of 290,000 in November for a 5.5 percent increase from October. Revised data showed that new home sales decreased in
On an annual basis, November’s rate of new homes sold was 21.2 percent lower than the November 2009 level of 368,000 new homes sold.
Today’s sales data failed to match market forecasts which were expecting a 6.0 percent increase in sales for an annual rate of 300,000 new homes sold.
Contributing to the increase in November was a 37.3 percent gain in new homes sold in the the West while the South registered a 5.8 percent advance in sales. Sales in the Northeast fell by 26.7 percent while the Midwest saw a decrease by 13.2 percent from October to November.
All four regions have negative new home sales trends on an annual basis. The Midwest has seen new home sales fall by 53.5 percent from the November 2009 to the November 2010 time frame followed by the Northeast with a 29.0 percent decline, the South with a 12.7 percent decrease and the West with a 9.1 percent contraction.