New home sales rose in November, defying expectations

Washington, DC
CNN
 — 

New home sales were up in November from the month before, even as prices remained elevated and buyers faced some of the highest mortgage rates of the year.

Sales of newly constructed homes rose 5.8% in November from October, but were down 15.3% from a year ago, according to a joint report from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the US Census Bureau. Sales also rose in October.

Some 640,000 new homes were sold last month, at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, up from a revised 605,000 in October. A year ago, 756,000 newly constructed homes were sold.

Meanwhile, the median price for a new home dropped to $471,200, down from $493,000 the previous month.

This is a developing story and will be updated.