• October new home sales data indicate a 10.7 percent monthly jump in sales to a 495,000-unit seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, a much stronger jump than expected
• For the third straight month, existing and new home sales moved in opposite directions in October.
• The median sale price of new homes sold in October was $281,500 – down from $307,800 in September, and slightly below where it was for much of the summer (in the mid-$290Ks). This represents the lowest median sales price for new homes in more than a year.

Sales of newly built homes recorded a much larger than expected gain in October from September, the third straight month that new home sales and existing home sales moved in opposite directions. But before getting too excited by t he data, it’s important to note that previous months’ sales figures were revised downward, tempering the gain somewhat. New home sales data is volatile and often changes wildly from month-to-month, but today’s news nevertheless should offer some hope that new home construction activity is turning a corner and finally starting to pick up somewhat after an anemic past few years. The median price of a newly built home also fell significantly, indicating builders may also be serving more entry-level and middle-of-the-road buyers, good news for a market struggling to get these kinds of buyers in the door.