2012 New Home Sales Up 20% Over 2011

For all of 2012, new home sales increased 19.9 percent over 2011, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. An estimated 367,000 new homes were sold in 2012.

Sales of new single-family houses in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 369,000, down 7.3 percent from November's revised rate but up 8.8 percent from December 2011.

The median home price in December was $248,900, while the average sales price was $304,000. At the end of December, the seasonally adjusted inventory of new homes for sale was 151,000, representing a 4.9-month supply at the current rate.