New home sales rose a seemingly solid 3.7% to 621K but the reason is suspect: Strong negative revisions in Oct and Nov.

The Census department reported New Home Sales jumped 16.9% in November to 657,000 units.

Today it says November sales rose to 599,000 from a revised lower October total 549,000. Sales are up 3.1% from revisions that subtracted 71,000 units in prior months.

By region, sales rose 44.8% in the Northeast, fell 15.3% in the Midwest, rose 5.0% in the South, and Rose 1.4% in the West.

Treat these numbers with a bit of skepticism.

New Home Sales and New Homes For Sale

(Click on image to enlarge)

​Note the rise in builder speculation. Builders have 344,000 completed homes for sale.

The census bureau is still struggling to catch up from the government slowdown. The January new home sales report is due March 14.