New-home sales fell to an annual rate of 369,000 in December compared to November’s annual rate of 398,000, CNN reports.
Last month’s rate of sales, which fell 7.3%, was lower than analysts expected, but well above a year ago.
The real estate market is still showing signs of recovery. Existing home sales in 2012 totaled 4.65 million units, up 9% from 2011, and the strongest year since 2007. And new home sales from last year are the strongest since 2009.