Red-hot US housing market: January new home sales jump 4.3%

SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — Demand for new homes in the U.S. surged 4.3% in January as the housing market remains one of the strongest segments of the economy. Last month’s increase pushed sales of new homes to an adjusted annual rate of 923,000 the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. That’s much better than the 855,000 analysts were expecting. December’s new home sales figure was also revised up from 842,000 to 885,000. The median price of a new home sold in January slipped 346,400 but is still up more than 5% from a year ago.