This just out from the U.S. Commerce Department and the Department of Housing and Urban Development:

Sales of new single-family houses in October 2012 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 368,000. This is 0.3 percent below the revised September rate of 369,000, but is 17.2 percent above the October 2011 estimate of 314,000.

The median sales price of new houses sold in October 2012 was $237,700; the average sales price was $278,900. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of October was 147,000. This represents a supply of 4.8 months at the current sales rate.

Local data isn't available in this report, but I expect to receive November permit data for the Twin Cities metro area sometime today or tomorrow. Stay tuned for more details. In the meantime, here's a link to the full national report.