According to nationalmortgagenews, new home sales in Dec. 2012 dropped 7.3 percent to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 369,000 units from 398,000 in Nov., which marked a two-and-a-half-year high. The Census Bureau estimates new home sales increased 20 percent from 2011 to 367,000 units for 2012. While there were only 151,000 homes on the market at the end of 2012, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) projects single-family starts will hit 650,000 this year—an increase from 535,000 in 2012—and rise to 844,000 units in 2014. As NAHB Chief Economist David Crows tells MHProNews, “Nearly every measure of housing market strength—sales, starts, prices, permits and builder confidence—has been trending upward in recent months and we expect to see gradual but steady growth along these lines in 2013.”
