New-home sales rise, durable goods fall

Sales of new homes rebounded in September, while orders for durable goods fell, according to a Department of Commerce report. Sales of new one-family homes rose 4.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 770,000 from a revised 735,000 in August. The increase was a welcome change after yesterday’s report that existing-home sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04 million, down 8% from a 5.48 million pace in August. That report was issued by the National Association of Realtors in Washington. Sales of new homes in August had previously been reported at a 795,000 pace. Compared to the same period last year, sales are off 23.3% from an estimate of 1.004 million homes sold. Inventories of new homes fell 1.5% to 523,000. The median sales price of a new home sold in September increased 5%, to $238,000, compared to the year-ago period. The average sales price to purchase a home increased 2.8% to $288,000, In another economic report, total orders for durable goods fell 1.7% in September to a seasonally adjusted $214.53 billion, according to the Department of Commerce. Durable goods, which are designed to last at least three years, declined 5.3% in August, revised downward from a previously estimated 4.9% drop. Orders for capital goods excluding aircraft rose 0.4%, while shipments increased 1%. Non-defense orders for capital goods fell 38.7% to $6.6 billion, while non-defense orders edged up 4.4% to $74.4 billion.