Dive summary:

• Some observers of the U.S. housing market are growing more optimistic that they will see 2012 as the year that things got back into gear for growth.
• Among the data encouraging optimism was Census Bureau data that, as December came to a close, showed new-home sales were up 4.4% in November to hit an annual rate of 377,000 – the highest in two years.
• Steve Storti, who is senior vice president of marketing for Prudential Fox & Roach Realtors in Pennsylvania, said, "Hopefully, we'll look back at 2012 as a transition year."

From the article:

Patrick Newport, U.S. economist with IHS Global Insight, ... cautioned, however, against reading too much into monthly new-home sales data, which he said are "badly estimated" and subject to major revision. ...