New home sales surge in October
- Share via
New home sales shot up in October, evidence that buyers nationwide may be absorbing higher mortgage interest rates.
Sales of newly built single-family houses rose 25.4% from September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 444,000, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. The sharp rise comes after new home sales fell 6.6% in September.
Compared with October 2012, sales are up 21.6%.
QUIZ: Test your knowledge of mortgages
New homes in October sold for a median price of $245,800 nationally.
Sales rose in all regions. The West saw the smallest rise as buyers purchased 15.2% more new houses than a month earlier.
If houses continued to sell at their current rate, there would be a 4.9 months’ supply of new homes on the market. Economists generally consider a supply of six months to be healthy.
ALSO:
B of A to pay $404 million in mortgage settlement
With Prime Air, Amazon plans to deliver purchases via drones
California’s health insurance exchange: Five things to watch in December
Inside the business of entertainment
The Wide Shot brings you news, analysis and insights on everything from streaming wars to production — and what it all means for the future.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
