US new home sales jump 4.1pc in September

New home sales jumped 4.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 738,000 in September, according to the Census Bureau, the highest reading since May 2023 and ahead of forecasts for a print of 720,000.

Sales surged 21.7% to 28,000 in the Northeast and were up 5.8% to 477,000 in the South but dropped by 2.5% in the Midwest to 77,000 and held steady at 156,000 in the West.

The median price of new houses sold came to $426,300, while the average sales price was $501,000, compared to $426,100 and $515,000 at the same time a year earlier, respectively.

Approximately 470,000 new homes were listed for sale during September.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com