Futures News – New Home sales up 18% in December.

New home sales for December jumped 18 percent to an annual unit rate of 329,000.

In turn, months’ supply came down to 6.9 from 8.4 months in November.

The buyer rush likely was tied to December’s jump in mortgage rates which

encouraged potential homebuyers to quit sitting on the fence and commit to

a purchase. The spurt in sales resulted in the median sales price to jump

12 percent to $241,500. However, sales in the low end price range may have

been damped by recent court rulings on robo-signings of foreclosure documents.

New home sales measure the number of newly constructed homes with a

committed sale during the month. The level of new home sales indicates

housing market trends and, in turn, economic momentum and consumer

purchases of furniture and appliances.

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