November's figure was revised to 599 thousand units from 657 thousand previously estimated.
In December, new home sales increased in the South (5 percent to a seven-month high of 375 thousand), West (1.4 percent to 143 thousand) and Northeast (44.8 percent to 42 thousand), but declined in the Midwest (-15.3 percent to 61 thousand, their lowest level since April 2016).
The median new house price fell 7.2 percent to USD 318,600 in December from USD 343,300 in the same month a year ago. The average sales price dropped to USD 377,000 from USD 402,900 a year ago.
The stock of new houses for sale went up 3 percent to 344 thousand in December, the highest since December 2008, from 334 thousand in November. This represents a supply of 6.6 months at the current sales rate, down from 6.7 months in November.
Year-on-year, new home sales decreased 2.4 percent. Considering 2018 full year, an estimated 622 thousand new homes were sold, up 1.5 percent from the 2017 figure of 613 thousand.
