USA new home sales rebounded in October, after going through a massive dip in September.
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According to figures released by the Commerce Department, new home sales jumped 10.7 % last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 495,000, after September’s 11.5% tumble was revised down to show a 12.9% slump.
Americans recovered much of their appetite for owning new homes this year.
New home purchases have rallied 16% year-to-date (YTD), mostly due to low mortgage rates and strong hiring gains.
At the current sales pace, it would take 5.5 months to exhaust the supply of available homes.
Meanwhile, the report said the median sales price of new houses sold in October was $281,500, down 8.5 percent from $307,800 in September and down 6 percent from $299,400 a year ago.
The real estate sector is still healing from the bursting of the housing bubble and the 2008 financial crisis. Home sales for properties priced above $750,000 rose by 2 percentage points and accounted for 7% of all new home sales in October.
The revision to the September rate dropped 21,000 from the month’s total. Thomas Reuters analysts had expected new home sales to be 505,000 in October. The sales improved even though potential buyers face slim picking as the number of listings on the market has dropped 4.5%.
Low mortgage rates have eased some home sales.
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The average, 30-year fixed mortgage rate was slightly under 4 percent this week, compared to 3.79 percent a month ago, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac.
