MW: Sept. new home sales drop first time in 6 months
By Greg Robb
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. new home sales unexpectedly fell 3.6% in September, the Commerce Department estimated Wednesday. The decline in new-home sales to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 402,000 was well below the 438,000 pace expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. New-home sales in August were revised to a 417,000 level compared with the previous estimate of 429,000. This is the first decline in new home sales after five consecutive monthly gains. New-home sales are down 7.8% compared with a year ago. The supply of homes on the market fell to 251,000 in September, which is the lowest level since November 1982. Median sales prices have fallen 9.1% in the past year to $204,800.
