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September new home sales in US rise by 2.7 pct
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-10-27 22:31

WASHINGTON -- Sales of new homes in the United States recorded an unexpected increase in September as median home prices dropped to the lowest level in four years.

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The Commerce Department reported Monday that sales of new single-family homes rose by 2.7 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 464,000 homes. Economists had expected sales would drop from the August level.

The median price of a new home sold in September declined by 9.1 percent from a year ago to US$218,400, the lowest price level since September 2004, a period when home prices were rising rapidly as the country experienced a five-year housing boom.