New home sales dropped sharply in October

WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- New U.S. one-family home sales dropped 5.3 percent in October, falling 40.1 percent below October 2007, the U.S. Commerce Department said Wednesday.

New single-family home sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433,000 units, a level unseen since the recession of 1991.

The median sales price of a new home was $218,100 and the average sales price was $272,300, the report said.

The department said it would take 11.1 months for the inventory of 381,000 homes on the market to sell at current prices.