COSTELLO: More good economic news this morning when can it comes to new home sales; they are up for the month of November and the best in two years. Alison Kosik is here to break down the numbers.</s>ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi Carol. So this is yet another sign that the housing market continues to be the brightest bright spot in the economy. We found out that new home sales rose 4.4 percent in November. That's about in line with forecasts in showing as well that the median price for a home is just over $246,000. This is a sharp turnaround from October when Superstorm Sandy drag down these sales. Now although new home sales only make up about 10 percent of the housing market, we do like to watch these numbers because what they do is they give us some really good indications about how the overall economy is doing because new homes, they typically are more expensive than previously-owned ones since they are built from the ground up. That has a ripple effect. It helps add construction jobs and people need to fill and decorate those houses so it would help home improvement stores and sales of appliances and furniture. And also we have seen the market for new homes steadily improving. Sales, Carol, are now up almost 15 percent over the year. And that's because of a variety of factors. One of them including those record-low mortgage rates. See, we don't just talk about the depressing stuff like fiscal cliffs. We have good news in the housing market.</s>COSTELLO: Yes. Alison. Thanks so much. This just in to CNN. A shakeup in President Obama's Cabinet. Lisa Jackson, the administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, will step down from her post after the President's State of the Union speech next month. Jackson began at the agency in 1987 as a scientist. "Talk Back" question for you today: Will America ever come together on guns? Your responses, next.
New Home Sales Jump in November