Home sales rose modestly in September

WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- Sales of new single-family homes rose modestly in September compared with August, the U.S. Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Home sales rose 6.6 percent month-to-month after a 12.4 percent sales drop June to July and a flat performance in August.

The housing market has established some statistical distance from the end of June, which marked the end of an $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers. The market, however, has since been rocked by a foreclosure scandal that has forced several national lenders to suspend pursuing foreclosures in court until issues over shoddy paperwork can be addressed.

Commerce said the annual rate of sales in September was 307,000 homes, which is 21.5 percent lower than September 2009, when 391,000 homes were sold on a seasonally adjusted basis.

The median sales price for a new home in July was $223,800, Commerce said. At the end of the month, there were 204,000 homes on the market, an eight-month supply at the current rate of sales.