The numbers: New-home sales were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 733,000 in November, the Commerce Department said Friday.

What happened: Sales of newly constructed homes throttled past expectations as the housing recovery picked up steam. November’s number was 17.5% above a downwardly revised October and 16% higher than a year ago.

That easily beat the MarketWatch consensus of a 658,000 selling pace.

The median price for a new home in November was $318,700, about 1% higher than $315,000, the price a year ago.

At the current pace of sales, it would take 4.6 months to exhaust available supply, still lean compared with longtime averages.

Because the government’s monthly reports on new-home sales are based on small samples of data, they often undergo extensive revisions. Many economists find it more useful to look at trends spanning several months for a view of the market. For the year to date, sales are 9.1% higher compared with the same period last year, a metric that’s risen as the year has gone on.

Big picture: After years of stops and starts, housing has real momentum. Sales of previously owned homes were at the fastest pace since the bubble in November, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday.

Demand is booming, but years of lean supply have left the housing market drum-tight, pushing up prices and making it hard for marginal buyers to break in.

That’s good news for current homeowners who don’t have plans to move -- and for shareholders of big publicly traded builders. Shares of LGI Homes Inc. LGIH, +4.65% are up more than 150% for the year to date, while KB Home KBH, -0.37% shares have nearly doubled.

Read: Builders could see another year of double-digit growth, analysts believe

What they’re saying: “Before today, year-to-date new home sales averaged 613,000. The year-to-date average now, including November and revisions, is 617,000,” said Jennifer Lee, BMO Capital Markets senior economist.

“More homes were sold in all of the regions of the country, even as inventories of new homes available for sale were unchanged in the month. This left the months’ supply at 4.6, the lowest in 1½ years. Still tight... no wonder home builders are feeling so good these days.”

Read: Home-builder confidence is now higher than during the housing bubble