Sales of new single-family homes rose 28.9 percent on an annual basis in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 437,000, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today.

That represents a 15.6 percent increase from December, and was the fastest pace of new-home sales for a January since 2008, blogger Bill McBride pointed out on Calculated Risk.

It was, however, the ninth weakest January in records going back to 1973, McBride noted. Nearly three times as many new homes sold in January 2005. 

The median sales price of new homes sold in January was $226,400, up 2.1 percent from a year ago, but down 9.4 percent from December.

The Census Bureau estimated that 150,000 new homes were on the market at the end of December, representing a 4.1-month supply. Less than six months’ supply is considered normal, McBride said.