Sales of newly built, single-family homes in 2016 numbered 563,000, a 12.2 percent increase above the 2015 figure of 501,000 and the highest number since 2007, according to the National Association of Home Builders.
In December, single-family house sales were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 536,000, a 10.4 percent decline compared with the November rate of 598,000 and 0.4 percent below the December 2015 rate of 538,000.
"We are encouraged by the growth in the housing sector last year, and by the fact that builders increased inventory by 10 percent in anticipation of future business," said Robert Dietz, NAHB chief economist, in a statement. "NAHB's forecast calls for continued upward momentum this year, with housing starts expected to rise 10 percent over the course of 2017."
