The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reports data from the the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Census Bureau indicate sales of newly-built single-family homes rose 25.4 percent in October, following a drop in sales in Sept. of 6.6 percent. Both government reports were delayed by the partial shutdown of the government in early October, as MHProNews has learned. NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe says, “The strong October results return us to the sales levels we saw earlier this year and negate the pause caused by the sudden jump in interest rates. We expect sales to continue to rise as pent up demand is released and first-time home buyers creep back into the market.” All four of the regions posted double-digit gains, as sales rose 34 percent in the Midwest, 28.2 percent in the South, 19.2 percent in the Northeast and 15.2 percent in the West. The quicker sales pace dropped the month’s supply of new homes to 4.9, and the inventory of new homes for sale nudged down to 183,000 units.
