U.S. New Home Sales Spike Much More Than Expected In December

A report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday showing new home sales in the U.S. surged much more than expected to a nine-month high in the month of December. The Commerce Department said new home sales soared by 11.9 percent to an annual rate of 811,000 in December after spiking by 11.7 percent to a revised rate of 725,000 in November.