New home sales slide slightly in October

Sales of new single-family homes fell slightly September to October, the U.S. Commerce Department said Wednesday. Sales dropped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 368,000 from a revised September rate of 369,000. Sales also rose 17.2 percent more than the annual rate of 314,000 from October 2011. The Commerce Department said the average sale price for a new home sold in October was $278,900, down from $292,400 in September. The seasonally adjusted estimate of how many new homes were on the market at the end of the month was 147,000, which is 2,000 more than September and represents a 4.8-month supply at the current rate of sales.