WASHINGTON - New home sales increased 6.2% in October as the number of homes for sale fell to a 38-year low, the Commerce Department reported today.
Buyers purchased homes at a 430,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in October following an upwardly revised 405,000 rate in September, initially reported as 402,000.
Sales increased from October a year ago when homes sold at a 409,000 annual rate. It was the first year-over-year sales gain in four years.
Economists expected 410,000 new home sales in October, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters.
New home inventories dropped to 239,000, the lowest level since May 1971. The months supply fell to 6.7 months, the lowest level since December 2006.
The median price increased 0.7% for the month to $212,200, the first median price increase since May. The median price fell 0.5% from a year ago.
