U.S. new home sales showed a stronger-than-anticipated recovery in September, as reported by the Commerce Department on Thursday.
The Commerce Department noted that new home sales jumped by 4.1 percent to an annual rate of 738,000 in September, following a drop of 2.3 percent to a revised rate of 709,000 in August.
Economists had forecasted a modest increase of 0.5 percent, predicting new home sales would reach an annual rate of 720,000, up from the initially reported 716,000 for the previous month.
This unexpected surge brought new home sales to their highest point since May 2023 when they peaked at an annual rate of 741,000.
The report indicated that new home sales in the Northeast soared by 21.7 percent to an annual rate of 28,000, while the South experienced a 5.8 percent increase, reaching an annual rate of 477,000.
Conversely, new home sales in the West remained steady at an annual rate of 156,000, and the Midwest saw a decline of 2.5 percent to an annual rate of 77,000.
Additionally, the Commerce Department reported that the median sales price for new homes sold in September was $426,300, reflecting a 3.8 percent increase from $410,900 in August, and a slight rise of 0.1 percent from $426,100 a year earlier.
At the end of September, there were an estimated 470,000 new homes available for sale, which corresponds to a supply of 7.6 months at the current sales pace. This is a decrease from 7.9 months in August but an increase from 7.5 months in September 2023.
In contrast, a separate report from the National Association of Realtors on Wednesday indicated an unexpected decline in existing home sales in the U.S. during September.
The NAR stated that existing home sales fell by 1.0 percent to an annual rate of 3.84 million in September, following a 2.0 percent drop to a revised rate of 3.88 million in August.
Economists had anticipated a 1.0 percent rise in existing home sales, expecting a rate of 3.90 million, up from the originally reported 3.86 million for the prior month.
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