New home sales in the U.S. fell more than expected, declining 5.3% in October to an annual pace of 433k, according to a report from the Commerce Department on Wednesday.

The previous month's gain was revised downward to 0.7%.

Economists were expecting October data to fall 5.0% to 441k, from the originally reported September figure of 464k, which was revised down to 457k.

Inventories rose to a pace of 11.1 months, up from a 10.9-month supply in September.

The median sale price of new houses fell to $218,000, down from $221,700 in September. Annually, prices have fallen 12.2%.

Regionally, the report was mixed. In the West, the pace of sales fell from 111k in September to 91k in October.

The pace of sales in the Midwest fell to 71k, while sales in the South moved down to 233k from 248k in September. Meanwhile, the pace of sales rose in the Northeast to 38k from 31k in September.

The Census report follows Monday's existing home sales report from the National Association of Realtors, which fell more than expected by 3.1% to a pace of 5.14 million sales in October.

By Stephen Huebl and edited by Nancy Girgis
©CEP News Ltd. 2008