"We're starting to see more and more momentum each month in the housing market"
- Robert Kavcic, a Bank of Montreal economist in Toronto
Purchases of new homes in the world's biggest economy jumped more than expected last month, a sign nation's property market is improving. Sales rose 5.7% to a 389,000 units in September, up from 368,000 in the prior month, reaching the highest level since April 2010. The improvement was mostly provided by the record-low mortgage rates and the growth of population.
"We're starting to see more and more momentum each month in the housing market," said Robert Kavcic, a Bank of Montreal economist in Toronto, who forecast sales would rise to 388,000. "The months supply was back to pre-recession levels, which is definitely good news for housing starts."
"It's no longer a question of whether the industry is rebounding," Larry Sorsby, chief financial officer of Red Bank, New Jersey-based Hovnanian. "There is clear evidence that we have bounced off the bottom and are in the midst of a recovery."
The Standard & Poor's 500 lost 0.31% per cent to 1,408.75. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surrendered 0.19% per cent to 13,077.34. The Nasdaq Composite retreated 0.29% per cent to 2,981.70.
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