New home sales unexpectedly fall in October
The Commerce Department said sales dropped 8.1 percent to a 283,000 unit annual rate after an upwardly revised 308,000 unit pace in September.
Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast new home sales rising to a 310,000 unit pace in October. Compared to October last year, sales were down 28.5 percent.
Housing remains one of the weak spots in the economy, which is showing some strength. With unemployment stuck at an uncomfortably high 9.6 percent, homeowners are struggling to hang on to their houses, keeping the foreclosure wave high and stifling the sector's recovery. Data on Tuesday showed a drop in the sales of previously owned homes last month
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