By Jann Swanson
Posted To: MND NewsWire
Applications for new home purchases dropped in December , falling 6.8 percent behind those a year earlier. The deficit from November was even larger, a decline of 13 percent. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) estimates that those numbers, which do not include any adjustment for seasonal patterns, translates into new home sales during the month at an annual rate of 552,000 units, a 12 percent decrease from the estimated November pace of 627,000 units. On an unadjusted basis, MBA says there were 37,000 new homes sold during the month, down 17.8 percent from the 45,000 new home sales in November. “New home sales declined for the second straight month in December, from 627,000 units to 552,000 units, as factors such as a volatile stock market and economic uncertainty , both here and abroad…(read more)