New Home Sales in U.S. Uptick 5.5% in November

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Good news today for U.S. home builders.

According to data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), sales of new single-family houses in November 2010 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 290,000.

This is 5.5 percent (±16.2%) above the revised October rate of 275,000, but is 21.2 percent (±13.3%) below the November 2009 estimate of 368,000.

The median sales price of new houses sold in November 2010 was $213,000; the average sales price was $268,700. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of November was 197,000. This represents a supply of 8.2 months at the current sales rate.

This is encouraging news says one Orlando-based home builder, "but we'll need much more of it to get through next year."

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