Pace of new-home sales virtually unchanged in October

Sales of newly built, single-family homes in October held virtually unchanged from a downwardly revised pace in the previous month, at a seasonally adjusted, annual rate of 368,000 units, according to figures released by HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau today.

"New-home sales have been occurring at a fairly steady pace since this summer, with October sales running about 17 percent ahead of the pace set at the same time last year," noted Barry Rutenberg, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Gainesville, Fla. "While this is encouraging, housing's recovery is being significantly constrained by overly tight mortgage lending conditions at this time, and policymaker discussions about changes to the mortgage interest deduction could cast a shadow on future housing demand."