Sales of new single-family homes posted a strong gain in September, increasing 14.0% to 800,000 at a seasonally adjusted annual rate from a 702,000 pace in August. Despite the gain, sales are down 17.6% from the year-ago level and are 19.4% below the 993,000 pace in January (see top of first chart). The drop in new home sales since December has been matched by permits for future construction, though permits did not see a tick up in September (see top of first chart).
Sales of new single-family homes were up in three of the four regions of the country in September. Sales in the South, the largest by volume, rose 17.5%, while sales in the West gained 8.2%, and sales in the Northeast increased 32.3%. However, sales in the Midwest were off 1.5% for the month. From a year ago, sales were down between 11 and 34% in three of the four regions, but are up 7.9% in the Northeast.