The taper-driven rate-rise scare mid-summer that stalled home-buyer (speculator) confidence has been matched by the December 2013 numbers. New Home sales plunged 7.0% against expectations of only a 1.9% drop as total sales (seasonally adjusted and annualized) dropped to 414k - the biggest miss (against 455k exp.) since July 2013. Of course the data is dreadfully sparse and noisy, as we note a mere 1,000 (non-seasonally-adjusted) homes were sold in the Northeast. Notably, the exuberant levels of the last few months have also been revised markedly lower.

Perhaps the most disturbing data point was the number of actual new houses sold in the Northeast region when observed on an unadjusted, not annualized basis. The only thing one can possibly say here is that at 1,000, at least it wasn't zero.