US New Home Sales Rise


Washington: New home sales in the US rose by 1.3 percent in October to an annualized rate of 307,000 units, extending the recovery begun in September after four consecutive months of decreases, authorities said Monday. Nevertheless, the increase was less than what analysts had expected, having forecast for October an annualized rate of between 310,000 and 320,000 units. In addition, the Commerce Department revised downward the figure for sales of new homes in September from the 313,000 units initially reported to 303,000. Despite the comparatively good figures for September and October, the market is still far from the 700,000 sales that experts say are needed to maintain a strong real estate market. The average price for a new home fell in October by 0.5 percent to $212,300. Although the rate of new home sales last month was 8.9 percent greater than in October 2010, the US real estate market continues to be mired in crisis with weak economic growth and 9 percent unemployment. There are fewer and fewer families who can buy a new home and those who are in a position to do so have at their disposal a large supply of existing homes for sale at distress prices.
Source: IANS