Sales of new single-family homes slipped, falling 5.3% to a 433,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in October, according to data released by the Commerce Department Wednesday.
The September figure came after a downwardly revised 457,000 rate in September, a 0.7% drop originally reported as a 2.7% increase to 464,000. Thomson Reuters’ poll of economists had predicted a 450,000 sales level for September.
Sales of new homes were 40.1% below the 723,000 rate in October 2007, Commerce said.