U.S. New-Home Sales Unexpectedly Jump to Highest Since 2007
Workers nail in wall studs to a stairway inside a home under construction at the M/I Homes Inc. Bougainvillea Place housing development in Ellenton, Florida, U.S., on Thursday, July 6, 2017. The U.S. Census Bureau is scheduled to release housing starts figures on July 19.
Photographer: Ty Wright/BloombergU.S. purchases of new homes unexpectedly surged in September to the highest level in a decade as activity accelerated in the South after hurricanes Harvey and Irma, according to government data Wednesday.
The biggest monthly gain in home sales since January 1992 reflected an increase in the number of properties in which construction hadn’t yet started. That level of 236,000 was the most since January 2007 and signals residential building will strengthen in coming months as firms get busy filling orders.