Sales Of New Homes Rise 2.7%
September sales of new homes rose 2.7% from August, but economists and housing experts say the turmoil in the financial markets makes it too soon to declare a bottom to the housing market's downturn. Sales of single-family new construction fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 464,000, down about a third from the pace in September 2007, the Commerce Department reported Monday. The August to September gain was driven by strong results in the West, where sales jumped about 23% on the strength of some of the biggest price cuts by home builders anywhere in the country. The report said that the national median price for a new home was $218,400, down from a median price of $221,900 in August. The sales numbers in September "were only up because they were down so much in August," says Patrick Newport, an economist for Global Insight. Monday's report on new home sales followed the National Association of Realtors' report Friday showing that existing ho