**MNI 5 THINGS: US New Home Sales Lower Than Expected>

By Shikha Dave and Harrison Clarke

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - The following are the key points from the 

September new residential sales data released Wednesday by the Commerce 

Department: 

     - September new home sales saw a 5.5% decrease to 553k SAAR, below 

the 625k expected. Year-over-year, new home sales saw a 13.2% decrease 

on a seasonally adjusted basis. New homes sold on a year-over-year basis 

unadjusted saw a 18% decrease.  

     - The median new home sales price rose 0.3% to $320,000. The 

average sales price fell -1.9% to $377,200. 

     - Sales saw a gain of 6.9% in the Midwest, but decreases of 40.6% 

in the Northeast, 1.5% in the South, and 12.0% in the West. 

     - August new home sales saw an downward revision to 585k from 629k, 

and July sales were revised downward to 603k from 608k. 

     - Homes available for sale rose 2.8% to 327k, the highest since 

January 2009's 341k level. Due to the increase in homes for sale and the 

decrease in houses sold, the months' supply on the market saw a 9.2% 

increase to 7.1 months, the highest since 7.2 months in March 2011. 

           ** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 ** 

[TOPICS: MAUDS$,M$U$$$,MAUDR$]