Dive Brief:

• New home sales in December far surpassed expectations, soaring 10.8% between November and December to an annual rate of 544,000, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted new, single-family home sales would rise 2%.

• The median sales price of homes sold in December was $288,900, down from $305,000 in November.

• The Midwest saw the strongest new home sales last month, with a 31.6% surge. Sales grew by at 21.0% in the West and 20.8% in the Northeast. The South saw new home sales inch up by just 0.4%.

Dive Insight:

The December sales numbers continue the market's streak of new home sale growth and offer a positive indicator of the residential industry's performance during a typically down time in the market.

CNBC noted the strong results are the "latest indication that the housing sector remains on firmer footing despite a massive stock market sell-off and slowing economic growth."

So far, housing market reports for this month have been promising. Homebuilder confidence remained at a score of 60, housing starts dipped a slight 2.5%, and existing home sales soared 14.7%. Pending home sale results will be released Thursday.