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News reports from the United States provided some much needed good news for the beleaguered housing market. Sales of new homes were up 4.8% for the month of September, rising to a seasonally adjusted rate of 770,000 for the year from the August rate of 735,000. The latest figures are according to the US Commerce Department in news reports from Reuters.

 

The median price for a new sold in September rose to $238,000, an increase of 2.5% from the August price of $232,100. At the end of the month there were 523,000 new homes on the market throughout the country.

 

New housing starts for the month of September fell 10.2% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.19 million. Permits for new homes also dropped 7.3% to 1.23 million. Over the past year, housings starts are down 30.8%, while permits have fallen 25.9%.

The construction decline was most apparent in apartment buildings, where starts fell 34.3% to a 228,000 annual rate. Single-family permits fell 1.7% to 963,000, the lowest since March 1993. Single-family starts are down 30.8% in the past year.

The housing market has seen a glut of homes on the market, and foreclosures have jumped, pushing even more houses on the market. To top it off, would-be borrowers are finding it more difficult and more expensive to get a mortgage due to the recent turmoil in financial markets.