• New home sales increased for the second month in a row from September to October, rising 6.2 percent to 685,000 units (SAAR) according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the most sales in a single month since October 2007.
• The number of new homes on the market increased to 282,000 units (SAAR), its highest level since May 2009.
• The median seasonally adjusted price of new homes sold in October fell 1.8 percent to $315,200, in line with levels seen in much of 2017.

New home sales beat expectations for the second month in a row in October, rising 6.2 percent from September to 685,000 units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), according to the U.S. Census Bureau. New home sales are now up 18.7 percent over the past year and are at their highest level since September 2007. Gains were broadbased across the country.

About half of the increase reported in October was due to downward revisions to new home sales estimates for September, which were revised downward from 667,000 units (SAAR) to 645,000 units (SAAR).The number of new homes for sale increased 1.4 percent month-over-month to 282,000 units (SAAR), up 13.7 percent from October 2016. That’s the most new homes for sale since May 2009, although still shy of levels that prevailed in the late 1990s.

The median seasonally adjusted price of new homes sold in October fell 1.8 percent from September to $315,200, but is still up 3.3 percent over the past year and back in line with prices that have prevailed for much of 2017.