New Home Sales Set Another Record

Sales of new homes rose 5.7% to a record 1.069 million annual rate in November, spurred by inexpensive mortgages, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

Housing construction can provide a boost to the trucking industry because it can increase demand for flatbed trucking to haul building materials and dry van freight to ship household appliances and furniture.

November’s record followed a revised 1.011 million pace in October. The previous record was a 1.053 million rate in September.

Economists had expected November sales to fall to a 1 million annual rate from October's previously reported pace of 1.007 million, Bloomberg said.

For all of this year, 969,000 new homes will probably be sold, exceeding last year's record 908,000, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

Commerce said the inventory of new homes for sale declined to a 3.8-month supply in November from 4 months.

By region, sales surged 41.2% in the Midwest to an annual pace of 257,000 and gained 2.4% in the South to an annual tempo of 475,000. Sales slumped 26.7% in the Northeast to an annual rate of 44,000, and dropped 3.9% in the West to 293,000 homes at an annual clip.Looking ahead, the lowest mortgage rates in almost four decades are likely

to underpin more housing construction, Bloomberg said.

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