ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø

December 27, 2006 11:30 AM, EST

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor.

ew home sales jumped 3.4% in November, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

The rise to a 1.047 million annual rate from 1.013 million in October was above economists’ estimates of a 1.018 million level or a 1.6% gain, Bloomberg reported.

ising home sales can mean more business for flatbed trucking companies that haul building materials and dry van freight carriers that haul household appliances and furniture.

New home sales — which account for about 15% of residential real estate sales — rose in three of the four national regions, falling 9.3% in the South. They gained 22.5% in the Northeast, 22.4% in the Midwest and 19% in the West.