US DATA: Oct new home sales -8.1% to 283k SAAR, well below the 310k
rate expected and following mixed revisions to the prev two months.
Sales were down sharply in the NE, MW, and West regions, but up 3.1% in
the large South region. The supply of new homes for sale -0.5% to 202k,
lowest since June 1968. As a result of the large sales drop, however,
the months supply rebounded to 8.6 months at the current sales pace from
7.9 months in Sept. The median sales price -13.9% to $194,900 in Oct,
the lowest since Oct. 2003.