NEW HOME SALES CONTINUE TO RISE IN OCTOBER

According to C.A.R., sales of new single-family homes rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.226 million units in October, a 0.2 percent increase above the revised September rate of 1.224 millions units, the U.S. Dept. of Commerce reported last week. The rate was 7.4 percent above the sales pace of October 2003. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of October 2004 was 412,000, a supply of 4.1 months at the current sales rate.
Both the West and Northeast regions posted increases in new single-family home sales in October 2004. Sales improved by 12.7 percent in the West, while sales in the Northeast rose 19.7 percent. Sales of new single-family homes declined in the Midwest and South regions, falling 3.6 percent and 9.1 percent, respectively.