The Commerce Department reported on Tuesday that new home sales in November hit an annualized rate of 464,000, which is 16.6 percent higher than one year ago, the Washington Post reported yesterday. Demand from homebuyers is also helping to push up the median sales price, which was $270,900 in November, up 4.5 percent compared to October. Sales varied dramatically by region. In the Northeast and the West, sales rose 15.2 percent and 31.1 percent, respectively, in November over the previous month. By contrast, sales fell 26.6 percent in the Midwest. In the South, which includes the Washington, D.C., region, sales fell 9 percent.
