The housing market continued to gain strength in January, providing a bulwark for the U.S. economy against the possibility of a global slowdown due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Sales of new U.S. single-family homes surged to a 12.5 year high, according to data released Wednesday by the Commerce Department. The data showed homes sales at a brisk 764,000 seasonally adjusted annualized rate in January, the highest since July 2007.
That was far beyond the 710,000 economists had expected and 7.9 percent above the previous month. Compared with a year ago, sales are up 18.6 percent.
December sales were revised up from 694,00 to 708,000.
New home sales make up about 12 percent of the housing market but can have an outsized economic impact. Building new homes creates demand for skilled and unskilled labor. New homes also have to be outfitted with furniture and appliances, creating a ripple effect of demand through the economy.
New home sales jumped 30.3 percent in the Midwest, the strongest region in January. Sales rose 23.5 percent in the West and 4.8 percent in the Northeast. The South saw a decline of 4.4 percent.
Unseasonably warm weather in much of the country may have boosted home sales in January and December.