New Home Sales Rise 5.3% in September

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ew home sales rose 5.3% in September as prices dropped to their lowest levels since 1970, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

The level dropped to a 1.075 million annual rate from a revised August rate of 1.021 million. Economists had forecast a decline to a 1.04 million pace, Bloomberg reported.

Rising home sales can mean more business for flatbed trucking companies that haul building materials and dry van freight that haul household appliances and furniture.

New home sales — which account for about 15% of residential real estate sales — rose in the South and West and declined in the Northeast and Midwest.