WASHINGTON -- New home sales dropped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 864,000 in September, a 1.4% decline from the downwardly revised August rate of 876,000.
"This number shows that there was no dramatic drop in new home sales in September due to the terrorist attacks early in the month," said Bruce Smith, president of the National Association of Home Builders. "We were looking for a slight decline in the September numbers, and this is about what we expected."