Home Sales Hit New Low as Home Sales Rise 4.8%

Confusing, isn't it?

US home sales hit fresh lows as unsold properties flood market

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Sales of US homes and apartments tumbled a hefty eight percent in September extending one of the nation's worst housing slumps in decades, an industry group said Wednesday.

The National Association of Realtors said in a monthly snapshot that sales of existing homes and apartments fell to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.04 million properties in September from 5.48 million in August.

The drop was much worse than expected. Most economists had only expected sales to decline to around 5.25 million. August sales were revised lower from an original tally of 5.50 million.

Grim news, huh?

So what about this?

September new homes sales rose 4.8 percent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sales of new single-family U.S. homes rose 4.8 percent in September while the inventory of homes fell and the median sales price rose, according to a government report on Thursday that delivered unexpectedly benign news for the battered housing sector.

New single-family home sales rose to an annual rate of 770,000 from a revised rate of 735,000 in August, the Commerce Department said. Analysts polled by Reuters were expecting September sales to fall to an annual rate of 780,000 from the August previously reported rate of 795,000.

Economics professors and housing experts, feel free to weigh in and interpret this news.