Dive Brief:

• Federal data just released shows new homes were selling at an annual rate of 421,000 units in August, up 7.9%.
• By region, sales were down in the West but up in the Midwest, South and Northeast.
• The August rate remains at about half of what The National Association of Home Builders considers normal for a healthy economy.

Dive Insight:

NAHB figures that July was down because potential buyers were shocked when mortgage rates began to rise from the historic lows they reached earlier this year, so August was up partially because the country is now getting used to current interest levels. It was still a gain, however, and NAHB said it probably would have been larger if the rates were lower, if people were finding jobs more readily and if there was not an overhanging concern about what Washington is, or isn't, up to.