Sales of newly constructed single family homes rose slightly in October compared to September and were also improved from sales a year earlier.  The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development said today that sales in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 458,000 units, up 0.7 percent from September sales.  September new home sales were originally reported at 467,000 units were adjusted down in this report to 455,000.  October sales were 1.8 percent above the October 2013 estimate of 450,000 units.

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis sales for the month were estimated at 37,000 units.  This number was unchanged from September but was 1,000 units above the estimate one year earlier.

There were approximately 212,000 newly constructed homes for sale at the end of October.  This is projected as a 5.6 month supply at the current rate of sales.  One year ago the inventory was estimated at a 4.9 month supply.  Homes sold in October were on the market for a median of 3.0 months.

The median price of a new homes sold in October was a record $305,000 and the average price was $401,000.  The median and average prices one year earlier were $264,300 and $335,700 respectively.

Sales of new homes in the Northeast region were 7.1 percent higher than in September but down 6.3 percent from the previous October.  Sales in the Midwest were up 15.8 percent month-over-month but were down 2.9 percent on an annual basis.  The South had lower new home sales compared to both earlier periods, down 1.9 percent for the month and 4.5 percent for the year.  The West's October sales were down 2.7 percent from September but were 27.9 percent higher than the same month in 2013.