A Christmas Eve report from the Commerce Department showed new home sales falling 2.1 percent last month, to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 464,000 units. While the number came in slightly softer than expected, sales are still near five-year highs, suggesting the housing recovery is on solid ground as 2013 comes to a close.
Sales fell in the South and Midwest, but rose in the West and Northeast. Sales climbed a whopping 31.1 percent in the West, one of the biggest monthly increases in the region in more than two years.