Sales of new single-family houses rose 11.6 percent in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 481,000 units, the National Association of Home Builders said after a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. Sales dropped 11.5 percent in the Midwest, but increased 53.6 percent in the Northeast, 17.7 percent in the South and 3.1 percent in the West. “This uptick is in line with what our builders are telling us in surveys and on the ground — that they are seeing increased traffic and more serious buyers in the market for single-family homes,” Tom Woods, chairman of the NAHB, said in a release.