Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 9.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 468,000 units in January from an upwardly revised pace of 427,000 units in the previous month, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. This is the strongest sales pace since July of 2008.
"The fact that the cold weather that hit much of the country didn't stop home buyers from going out and purchasing a piece of the American dream is a great sign," said Kevin Kelly, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Wilmington, Del. "However, the very low supply of new homes on the market and the continued concern of available buildable lots still have builders cautious about getting ahead of themselves."