U.S. new home sales drop 17.3% in October

02 Dec 2024 CW Team

Sales of new single-family homes in the U.S. fell sharply in October 2024, reaching their lowest level in nearly two years as rising mortgage rates and hurricane disruptions curbed buyer activity. According to the Commerce Department, new home sales plunged 17.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 610,000 units, marking the lowest rate since December 2022. The sales pace for September remained unchanged at 738,000 units. Economists had anticipated a smaller decline, predicting a rate of 725,000 units. New home sales, which account for roughly 15% of U.S. home sales, also fell 9.4% year-over-year in October. Mortgage rates played a significant role in the decline. After the Federal Reserve began cutting interest rates, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 6.08% at the end of September. However, by the end of October, rates surged to 6.72%, driven by rising 10-year Treasury yields amid robust economic data and concerns over inflation. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.84% last week. Regionally, new home sales plummeted 27.7% in the South, likely due to hurricane-related disruptions, and fell 9.0% in the West. In contrast, sales rose 1.4% in the Midwest and surged 53.3% in the Northeast. The median price of new homes increased 4.7% year-over-year to $437,300 in October. Inventory levels also rose, reaching 481,000 units, the highest since early 2008. At October’s sales pace, it would take 9.5 months to clear the current supply of homes, compared to 7.7 months in September. Expectations of slower rate cuts next year have intensified following inflation concerns. Additionally, President-elect Donald Trump's announcement of tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada, and China has fuelled uncertainty in the housing market. (ET)

Infrastructure Urban

02 Jun 2026

VECV Sales Rise 7.8 Per Cent In May 2026

VE Commercial Vehicles recorded sales of 7,978 units in May 2026, compared to 7,401 units in May 2025, registering growth of 7.8 per cent. This included 7,789 units from the Eicher brand and 189 units from the Volvo brand.Eicher branded trucks and buses reported sales of 7,789 units during the month, up 7.3 per cent from 7,258 units a year earlier. In the domestic commercial vehicle market, Eicher sales rose 9.1 per cent to 7,375 units from 6,758 units in May 2025.Exports declined 17.2 per cent to 414 units from 500 units in the corresponding month last year. Volvo Trucks and Volvo Buses recor..

Table Space Strengthens DESYN Leadership Team

Table Space has announced strategic leadership appointments within DESYN, its integrated Design and Build business, as it looks to strengthen operations across key enterprise and GCC markets in India. DESYN was launched as a strategic extension of Table Space’s workspace solutions portfolio to meet rising demand for agile, high-quality and rapidly deployable enterprise workspaces.Shruti Ookabhoy has joined DESYN as Executive Director and will lead the Design vertical, focusing on design capability, operational excellence and team development across markets. She brings over 22 years of experi..

Concord Associate Bags Rs 2.79 Bn Kavach Order

Concord Control Systems said its associate company, Progota India, has received a Rs 2.79 bn domestic order from Indian Railways for the supply, installation, testing and commissioning of on-board Kavach 4.0 loco equipment.The order is scheduled for execution within 12 months and strengthens Concord’s role in India’s railway safety and signalling ecosystem. Kavach is India’s indigenous automatic train protection system, designed to improve operational safety by helping prevent signal passing at danger and reducing collision risks.Gaurav Lath, Joint Managing Director, Concord Control Syst..