The last week of the year is traditionally one of the lightest, so we’re featuring an abbreviated economic report this week.

(+) New home sales gained +4.4% for November to 377k units, which beat analyst predictions of +3.3% growth.  Over the year, this metric is up +15%, which is in line with other positive housing metrics.

(+) Pending home sales jumped +1.7% for November month-over-month, which beat the estimate of +1.0%.   The Northeast and West regions were responsible for the majority of the gains, while the South and Midwest ended up with flat results.  These figures are right in line with a trend of positive housing data.

(+) The Case-Shiller home price index for October rose +0.7%, which bested the forecasted +0.5% gain and moved to a +4.3% gain year-over-year (the index has risen almost every month this year).  This index keeps beating expectations—led by over +1% showings in Las Vegas, San Diego and Atlanta during the month, while Chicago and Boston posted slight declines.  The only negative is that it’s old news—over a month old by the time we see the results.  Read more