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The numbers: Sales of newly built homes in the U.S. jumped in December as falling mortgage rates sparked home-buying interest.
The numbers: U.S. new-home sales rose 8% to an annual rate of 664,000 in December from a revised 615,000 in the prior month, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
The number is seasonally adjusted and refers to how many homes would be built over an entire year if builders continued at the same pace every month.
The pace exceeded expectations on Wall Street. Economists had forecast new-home sales to total 649,000 in December.
The rate of new-home sales was boosted by a sharp increase in the Northeast.
