New homes sold at an annual rate of 444,000 in October, up 25.4 percent from 354,000 in September. Economists polled by MarketWatch forecast sales to total a seasonally adjusted 419,000 in October.
Demand for new homes in October was strong across the country, with double-digit percent gains in all four major regions. Sales climbed 34 percent in the Midwest, 28 percent in the South, 19 percent in the Northeast and 15 percent in the West.
Marketwatch reported that part of what drove sales was a decline in prices as well as more demand for lower-prices homes, a trend that typically emerges in the colder months. The median price of new homes fell 4.5 percent from September to $245,800 in October. That’s the lowest level since November 2012 and 0.6 percent below the same month of 2012.
The supply of new homes on the U.S. market, meanwhile, sank to 4.9 months in October at the current sales pace from 6.4 months in September. That’s the lowest level since June.
New home sales are 21.6 percent higher compared to one year ago.