The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s New Residential Sales report for November shows sales of new single-family homes rose 1.6 percent over October’s pace to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 315,000. The improvement puts new-home sales 9.8 percent above last year’s estimate of 287,000. There were 158,000 new homes for sale at the end of the month, which represents a six-month supply at the current sales pace. The median price for a new house in November was $214,000; the average price was $242,900. More here.