New Home Sales Show Slight Gain

New home sales rose 0.7% in August, the Commerce Department said Friday.

Sales grew to an annual rate of 429,000 units, Commerce said. The median selling price plunged 9.5% from the previous month, the biggest such decline since records began in 1963.

Economists had forecast the July rate to rise to 440,000 units from an initially reported 433,000 in July, Bloomberg reported.

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

New home sales account for about 15% of residential real estate sales.