Dive Brief:

• Another batch of double data in the delayed Census Bureau reports for September and October showed sales of new homes were down 6.6% from August to September but up 25.4% in October.
• The sales, reported as the annual sales volume if all 12 months were like the reporting month, was a seasonally adjusted 440,000 single-family homes, which put the pace back to where it had been earlier this year before falling off.
• October sales were up by double-digit percentages in all four National Association of Home Builders regions, and the rush took the backlog inventory of homes for sale down to 4.9 months' worth at the October pace with 183,000 homes ready to sell.

Dive Insight:

Even with a stunning monthly increase, the rise in mortgage interest rates was the monthly scapegoat for builders, who blamed it for having slowed sales earlier. NAHB said it expects the sales rate will continue to go up as first-time home buyers "creep" back into the market despite the costs of borrowing.