New Home Sales at Lowest Level in 12 Years

The housing market plunged deeper into despair last month with sales of new homes plummeting to their lowest level in more than 12 years. The slump worsened even more than most analysts expected, heightening fears that the country might be thrust into a recession. New home sales tumbled 9 percent in November from October to a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 647,000. That was the worst sales pace since April 1995. The housing picture turned out to be more grim than most anticipated. Many economists were predicting sales to decline by 1.8 percent to a pace of 715,000. BY region, sales fell in all parts of the country, except for the West. In the Midwest, new home sales plunged 27.6 percent in November from October. Sales dropped l9.3 percent in the Northeast and fell 6.4 percent in the South. In the West, however, sales rose 4 percent.