New-home sales for September lowest since 1963

Despite a significant improvement from August, new home sales in September were among the worst on record since 1963, The Wall Street Journal reported. September sales rose to a seasonally adjusted rate of 307,000, but when compared to last year, the rate actually fell more than 21 percent.

Although the statistics are often revised, Patrick Newport, an economist with HIS Global Insight, said that new home sales “remained stuck at near rock-bottom levels.”

However, the Commerce Department’s report did have some bright spots. When compared to a year earlier, the median price rose 3.3 percent to $223,800.