Sales of new homes in the US rose 6.6% in September, a pace that beat expectations as the ailing housing market struggles to recover, official data shows today.
Sales of new single-family houses rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 307,000, from the August rate of 288,000, the Commerce Department said. The increase was better than the consensus analyst forecast of a rise to 299,000.
But September sales were 21.5% below lower the year-ago level.
Plane surge lifts US durable orders
Official figures show that new orders for long-lasting US manufactured goods rose by more than expected in September as bookings for civilian aircraft surged.
But orders fell when transport equipment was excluded, the figures from the Commerce Department showed.
Durable goods orders increased 3.3% in the month, the largest gain since January, after a revised 1% drop in August. Economists had expected orders to increase 2%.
Orders excluding transport, however, unexpectedly fell 0.8% in September after increasing 1.9% in August. Economists had expected a 0.5% gain.
