New home sales rise in October

Sales of new single-family homes increased in October to the fastest pace in five months, due to the fact that the market continued to slowly grow, according to government data released Wednesday.

Sales of newly built single-family homes in the U.S. increased 0.7 percent in October from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 458,000, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.  September's sales pace was revised down to 455,000 units from 467,000 units.

New home sales, which account for about 8 percent of the housing market, tend to be volatile month to month. Compared to October last year, sales were up 1.8 percent.

During October the sales pace rose 15.8 percent in the Midwest and 7.1 percent in the Northeast, but dropped 2.7 percent in the West and 1.9 percent in the South.

According to the Census, there were 212,000 new houses for sale, which represents a 5.6 month supply.

The median price of a home sold in October was $305,000, up 16.5 percent from a year ago.

In an encouraging sign, sales of existing homes rose 1.5 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.26 million, according to the National Association of Realtors. October marked the first month of 2014 in which sales of previously owned homes were higher than the same month in 2013.