New-home sales remain brisk

Monday, Sept. 27, 2004 | 9:12 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Sales of new homes rose by 9.4 percent in August, the Commerce Department said today, as mortgage interest rates remained at low enough levels to continue enticing buyers worried about future rate hikes.

New-home sales climbed to a seasonally adjusted 1.18 million, up from a revised 1.08 million in July.

The increase was the largest since December 2000, when new-home sales jumped by an annual rate of 11.7 percent.

In July, the rate of home sales fell by 7.3 percent.

The average sales price was $267,000 in August. Buyers had plenty to choose from, with 404,000 new homes for sale at the end of August, the most since October 1979.

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