Sales of new single-family homes rose in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 495,000 according to the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development. The October rate is 10.7 percent above the revised September rate of 447,000, and 4.9 above the year ago rate of 472,000.
New home sales increased in three of the four regions. Sales increased by 135.3 percent in the Northeast, 8.9 percent in the South, and 5.3 percent in the Midwest. New home sales contracted by 0.9 percent in the West.
The median sales prices of new houses sold in October was $281,500, down from $307,800 in September. The average price was $366,000, down $3,600 from last month.
At the end of October there was an estimated supply of 5.5 months at the current sales rate, down from 6.0 in September.
In contrast to October’s strong gains in new home sales, sales of existing homes fell 3.4 percent according to the National Association of Realtors.
Read the Census/HUD release.
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