Home builders in the United Sates sold less new homes than forecast in October. Purchases for the previous month were modified lower. It reflected the slowdown in the industry that was greatly affected by the financial crisis.
Home sales decreased 0.3 percent to a 368,000 annual pace after a 369,000 rate in September that’s 20,000 lower than what was previously reported. This was according to the data from the Commerce Department. The average estimate of economists showed a 390,000 pace.
The report showed the opposite with regards to the recent data that showed gains in residential construction, builder confidence and mortgage applications that showed housing to be contributing more to the economy.
More employment and easier access to credit are required to sustain the rebound of the real-estate industry. This was one of the reasons why Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke pledged to keep up the record stimulus.
Stocks increased as lawmakers said that they were optimistic that a deal would be reached that would avoid the tax increases and automatic spending cuts in January 2013. The Standard & Poor’s 500-index went up 0.8 percent to 1,409.93 at the close of trading in New York. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note declined to 1.63 percent from 1.64 the day before.
Home sales estimates ranged from 365,000 to 418,000. The reading last September was modified down by 5.1 percent to match the Commerce Department’s average of 5 percent change after the initial estimate.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo sentiment index went up for seven months in a row to reach the highest level since May 2006. Housing got a four year high in October according to the data released by the Commerce Department.
The Commerce Department also said that superstorm Sandy had minimal impact on sales last month. Purchases increased 62.2 percent in the Midwest, which is the highest level in three years. It went up 8.8 percent in the West to its fastest pace since July 2008.
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