New U.S. home sales rise at fast pace in November

The Associated Press recently reported that U.S. consumers stepped up their purchases of new homes at the fastest pace in more than 25 years in November, with sales skyrocketing 17.5 percent amid robust demand and a continued shortage of existing homes on the market.

The U.S. Commerce Department released data showing that “new home sales last month jumped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 733,000 units compared to 624,000 in October,” which amounts to “the biggest monthly gain since January 1992 and the most homes sold in a month since July 2007, just months before the economic downturn.”

The AP wrote that the sharp uptick in home sales is a sign of the strong demand from would-be homebuyers amid the strengthening economy, adding that the inventory of existing homes on the market has steadily fallen on an annual basis, while new construction has been unable to keep up with sales that are on their best annual pace since 2007.

In addition, the AP wrote demand propelled in part by unemployment at a 17 year-low has also exposed an underlying problem with the housing market: There simply aren’t enough homes being listed for sale.

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