US new home sales stagnant, casts shadow on housing

WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - New US single-family home sales fell slightly in October and the prior month's pace of sales was revised sharply lower, casting a small shadow over what has been one of the brighter spots in the US economy.

The Commerce Department said on Wednesday that sales dropped 0.3 per cent last month to a seasonally adjusted 368,000-unit annual rate.

Government data for new home sales are subject to substantial revisions. Indeed, the Commerce Department cut its estimate for September's sales rate to 369,000 from 389,000.

The housing sector has been a point of relative strength this year in an economy beset by flagging business confidence and cooling demand from abroad, and Wednesday's report did not change the view that housing is still in recovery mode.