US new-home sales fell in Dec., sales for year up
By Martin Crutsinger
Sales of new U.S. homes cooled off in December compared with November, but sales for the entire year were the best since 2009. The Commerce Department says new-home sales fell 7.3 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 369,000. That’s down from November’s rate, which was the fastest in 2 ½ years.