The Commerce Department says new home sales in September grew 6.6 percent from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 307,000. The increase follows a stretch where three of the past four months were the slowest on records dating back to 1963.
High unemployment, tight credit and uncertainty about home prices have kept people from buying homes. Government tax credits propelled the market earlier in the year, but those expired in April.
The median sales price was $223,800. That was up 3.3 percent from a year earlier.
